


Azuma no Yōsei

by WaltzingTheFaePaths



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst, Fairy Tail is it's own tag, Fairy Tail's seven year gap, Gajeel and Zuko being oniichans all the way!, Gen, I SHIT YOU NOT, but then I thought about it and it exploded like a nubbin, character building for the smol child, so much world building went into this, this was basically a spur of the moment idea
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-11
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-06-07 19:05:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 23,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6820438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaltzingTheFaePaths/pseuds/WaltzingTheFaePaths
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five years after Kiyi, Ursa & Ikem's scrapped attempt to move into the Palace (and a hell of a lot of training from the Kyoshi Warriors), they decide to try again. But before they can arrive, "spirit lights” suddenly take Kiyi away, leaving her in a strange new world. The people there are kinda weird, with magic instead of bending, odd hair colours and flashy clothes, but Kiyi believes that they can help her get home. After all, Fairy Tail mages are strong, and they always keep their promises!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fairy Travel

**Author's Note:**

> The fact that Mashima gave us the PERFECT cross over excuse, and hardly anyone uses it, is a travesty. Also, Kiyi is adorable, and I love seeing Gajeel and Zuko go from Big And Scary to Awesome Big Brother; ergo, this. I can also be found at fanfiction.net under the name Fairy of the Friz

 

 

Fire Lord Zuko had seen more than most Fire Nation citizens – after all, he had travelled the world.  He’d seen a great many things, and done a good number more; some he was proud of, and others… well, not so much.  On one of his latest adventures, accompanied by the Avatar and friends, he had met two separate – and yet linked – spirits, a female waterbender who _wasn’t_ Katara or a healer, a faceless man and, most importantly to him, found his long lost mother.

 Ursa.

 She had a new name – _Noriko_ – a new face, a new husband ( _Ikem,_ or _Noren)_ and a new daughter.  Her name was Kiyi, she was ten years old, and Zuko already loved her.  She was such a cute little thing, with her doll (also named Kiyi, since it was ‘such a good name’) and her baggy white pants, and floppy little fringe.

 Five years ago, Ursa and Ikem had agreed to come and visit the Capital City, to get to know Zuko better – mother and son had spent so long apart, they really just wanted some bonding time together.  But after the events of the Ozai Society's attempted coup, they had remained in Hira'a, visiting only occasionally (although Kiyi received a great many defence lessons from Zuko and the Kyoshi Warriors).  But now finally, Ursa and Ikem had agreed to try the capitol again.  Aang had agreed to fly them from Hira’a to the capital, since he was coming to stay in the Fire Nation for a little bit anyway, with the issue in Yu Dao and with the Refinery, _ahem_ , ‘cleared up’, now seemed like a pretty good time for another family reunion.

 Whilst Ursa hadn’t wanted to go anywhere near the palace again, Zuko’s promise that she and her family would be free to go where ever they wanted, and Kiyi’s begging to spend some time with her new big brother were her deciding factors (although, she _did_ drag Zuko aside, and ask that he start teaching Kiyi some defensive moves, as well as always keep her either with himself or Aang – the former of which he had already started).

 “Um, Zuko?”  Kiyi asked quietly, tugging on the sleeve of his robe.

 He smiled down at her.  “Is something wrong?”  He asked, crouching down and leaning in, just in case she didn’t want her parents or Aang to hear.

 She fiddled with her doll for a moment, not looking at him whilst she gathered her courage, before bursting out with, “Could I be a firebender, too?”  She looked both hopeful and terrified.

 Zuko’s eyes widened for a moment, and his smile grew just a little bit.  “Maybe – did you know that our mother’s grandfather was Avatar Roku?”  Her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.  “But bending isn’t always hereditary.  For a long time, nobody thought I was a bender.  I was a late bloomer, unlike my… unlike Azula.  She was a prodigy, from a very young age.” 

Kiyi was fascinated.  “So… how do we know if _I’m_ a bender?”

 Zuko thought back to some of his earliest lessons.  “Image that there’s a fire inside of you.  It can be as big or as small as you like – but just remember that it’s your source of life, as well, so don’t make it too small, or let it snuff out.  When we make camp tonight, I want you to try and meditate beside the fire, concentrating on that flame.  Do you think you can do that?”  At Kiyi’s nod, he added, “Just remember, firebending is energy and life – think of it like a tiny sun inside of you.  When we get back to the palace, we’ll try some other small exorcises.”

 “Like the leaf?”  Aang’s excited voice asked just behind Zuko.

 “Aang!”  Zuko growled.

 “Sorry, Sifu Hotman!”  Aang grinned, nonplussed. 

 “What about the leaf, Avatar Aang?”  Kiyi asked excitedly.

 “Well, before your brother was my teacher, I tried to learn firebending from a man called Jeong Jeong.  One of the first instructions he gave me was to focus on a fire he’d made in the middle of a leaf, and not let it reach the edges.  It was supposed to teach me patience…”  Aang trailed off then, not wanting to tell this ten year old how he’d burnt his girlfriend’s hands.

 Zuko placed a comforting hand on his half-sister’s shoulder, smiling down at her (after shooting Aang another reproachful look).  “We’ll see if you can master the breathing first, though, just in case you aren’t a firebender, ok?”

 “Mm!”  She nodded, smiling at him brightly.

 “We can demonstrate the Dancing Dragon for you tonight, and everything!”  Aang exclaimed excitedly.

 Zuko gave up on getting him to be quiet after that.

 

***  _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

After they had settled around the campsite that night, Aang and Zuko had gone through some practice patterns (for training purposes), then had performed the Dancing Dragon for Kiyi.  She had then insisted on learning the steps herself, and Zuko was proud to say that she had executed all of the moves flawlessly – if she turned out to be a bender, then she would certainly be a natural! 

 Ursa and Ikem had watched on also; one with nostalgia, and the other with just a trace of fear.  This was their little girl, who they had hoped to keep away from all the world’s problems – but if she was a firebender (and since Ursa had already borne two bending children, the odds were high), then they wouldn’t deny her the chance to learn – especially if it was from the Fire Lord and the Avatar!

  _Things were looking up_ , Zuko thought to himself, on the verge of sleep later that evening.

 A brief rustle in the bushes was all the warning they got, before everything went suddenly, _drastically_ , wrong.

 Men jumped out, yelling about how they would see Zuko dethroned and Ozai back in his rightful place.  Aang, Zuko and Appa tried to bend them away from their small camp, keeping Ikem, Ursa and Kiyi in the middle.  Firebenders, they could handle.

It was the sudden involvement of an earthbender that caught them unawares.

 He or she targeted Kiyi, creating a hole underneath the child, and then bending her away, regrouping with who appeared to be the firebenders’ leader.  He was holding Kiyi by the scruff of her clothes, a fire dancing close to her face.

 “Leave her alone!”  Zuko roared, drowning out the shouts from her parents.  “She has nothing to do with this!”

 “She’s just a little girl!”  Aang added, furious.

 “On the contrary, traitor prince,” The leader sneered.  “Rumour has it that this is your precious half-sister.”

 “She doesn’t want the throne,” Zuko growled.  “She isn’t a part of the Royal Line, so let her go!”

 The leader’s grin grew.  “Oh, we know that.  We also know just how much you _love_ your precious baby sister.  So how about this?  We’ll trade your sister’s life for the throne!”

 Avatar and Fire Lord froze, before both lowered their fighting stances.

“No!”  Kiyi cried out, terrified.  This was her fault.  This was _her fault!_

She began struggling, trying to find her inner fire.  It had to be there, somewhere!

“Zuko, don’t do it!”  She yelled, just as the world was lit up by a bright blue light, a force greater than anything she knew sucking her and her captor into the maelstrom. 

The last thing she heard was her brother and parents, screaming her name.


	2. Fairy Spark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years after Kiyi, Ursa & Ikem's scrapped attempt to move into the Palace (and a hell of a lot of training from the Kyoshi Warriors), they decide to try again. But before they can arrive, "spirit lights” suddenly take Kiyi away, leaving her in a strange new world. The people there are kinda weird, with magic instead of bending, odd hair colours and flashy clothes, but Kiyi believes that they can help her get home. After all, Fairy Tail mages are strong, and they always keep their promises!

 

 

The next thing Kiyi knew, it was raining.  They landed hard, bouncing apart from each other.  Kiyi struggled back even more, still trying to find her inner fire.  It was _there_ , she could _feel_ it, flickering at the edges of her consciousness!

“Stay away!”  She screamed, tears in her eyes.  Looking around wildly, she saw even more people, dressed in the weirdest clothes she’d ever seen – one of them appeared to be wearing only her swim wear and a cloak!

Drawing herself up into one of the beginner stances Aang had showed her and taking in a deep breath, Kiyi finally, _finally_ grabbed a hold that little spark inside of her, clutched it to herself tightly, and _punched_.

A red circle lit up in front of her fist, and from there fire flew.  The earthbender never stood a chance, really, as she followed through with two beginner patterns and the Dancing Dragon, fire bursting from her hands like she’d been doing it for years.

“Uwah!!”  Someone screamed, catching Kiyi’s attention.

“Pink hair?”  She whispered, tears still falling down her cheeks.

“That was so cool!”  He continued to scream.  “That magic of yours!”

“Magic?”  Kiyi hiccupped.  “I didn’t use any –!”

“Man!”  He laughed, walking forwards with a blue cat on his heels.  “That almost looked like a dragon’s fire!  You’ve got some skills, kid!”

“Please,” Kiyi whispered.  “What was that light?  Where are my parents?”  She sniffed.  “Where’s my brother?”

“Are you from Edolas, too?”  He laughed.  “You must be the only person there with magic!”

Kiyi shook her head.  “I don’t know anywhere called Edolas.  Who are you?”

“I’m Natsu!  Natsu Dragneel, of Fairy Tail!”

“That light?”  She sniffled.

“That was the Anima,” The indecent woman with gold – _gold_ – hair said.  “It sucked all the magic out of Edolas, an alternate world, and sent it all back here, to Earthland.  I’m Lucy Heartfilia, by the way.”

“Are you hurt?”  The little blue haired girl added.  “I don’t have much magic at the moment, but if it’s something small?  Ah!  I’m Wendy Marvel!”

“I – I’m Kiyi,” She sniffled.  Everybody had second names… so…” My name is Kiyi Hira’a.  And, I don’t think I’m really hurt.  I just want to go home.”

“Where’s home for you, Kiyi?”  The red headed one asked.

“Ember Island,” Kiyi sniffled.  “But we were moving to the mainland to live with my brother.”  Her eyes widened then, and she stumbled back away from them again, summoning the spark from inside, holding her hand in front of herself, that spinning circle appearing once more, before the fire appeared.  “Are you with them?  Are you friends with Stinky Ozai?!”

“What are ya talkin’ about, brat?”  The tall, dark haired one growled.  “We’re Fairy Tail Mages – we ain’t got anythin’ to do with someone called Ozai.”

“Then what do you want from me?!”  Kiyi yelled back. 

“We don’t want anything from you!”  Lucy tried to say soothingly.  “We want to help you get home.  Where’s Ember Island?  We’ll take you there, if we can!”

“It’s in the Fire Nation.”  Kiyi mumbled.  “How could you not know it?”

Lucy gasped.  “Don’t tell me – there’s _another_ universe?!”

 

*** _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

Back on Ember Island, Zuko and Aang were showing no mercy to the remaining members of what they now knew as the Ozai Society – well, those who hadn’t fled yet, anyway.

 “Where did you send her?!”  Zuko roared at the leader, holding him by the front of his shirt.  “Where’s Kiyi?!”

 “That wasn’t us!”  The man managed to gasp.  “Never… seen that … before!”

 “Zuko, that’s enough!”  Ursa’s voice cut through his rage, calling him back to reality.  There were tear tracks on her cheeks, but her face was firm.  “He doesn’t know anything.  We’ll have to find some other source.”

 Zuko struggled for a moment, before dropping the leader, and proceeding to tie him up.  Aang had earthbent those other members who hadn’t run away yet, and was retrieving rope from Appa’s saddle.

 “Zuko, I hate to say it, but I think you should return to the palace.”  Aang said firmly.

 “What?!”  Zuko exploded.  “Aang, that’s my sister!”

 “I know!”  Aang began quickly.  “But if they can find us out here, what about your uncle?  You, Ursa and Ikem take Appa and go on ahead – send reinforcements when you can.  I’ll stay here and look for Kiyi.”  He placed his hand on Zuko’s shoulder comfortingly.  “I’ll find her, I promise!”

 “You’re the Avatar,” Zuko grumbled, torn.  “You shouldn’t be out here on your own.”

 “I’ll be fine – I have Momo!”  Aang gave that impossible, little-kid grin, and Zuko’s scowl managed to lighten up, if only for a second.

 “As soon as we get back to the Palace, I’ll send out Mai and Katara,” He finally sighed, moving towards their campsite and beginning to pick up their stuff.

 “You’re going back?”  Ikem exclaimed. 

 Ursa placed a soothing hand on his shoulder.  “It’s the right thing to do.  For Kiyi’s sake.”

 Within a little while, everything was loaded back on Appa, Zuko holding the reins loosely.  “Aang!”  He called down to his friend.  “That light before – I think we both agree that it’s Spirit-related, but don’t try going into the Spirit World or anything until Katara and Mai get here, ok?”

 “Aye aye, Sifu Hotman!”  Aang cheerfully saluted.

 “I’ll send them back on Appa, alright?”  Zuko continued to grumble.

 “I’ll be looking for Kiyi from the air on my glider,” Aang added, popping the wings out.  The two young leaders nodded at each other once, before they took to the skies.

 

*** _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

“Lisanna, do you know anything?”  The redheaded woman was asking another girl, no older than Kiyi’s brother, but whose hair was actually _white_.  And she was so young!

 “Uh-uh,” She shook her head from side to side.  “To be honest, I thought that it was just Earthland and Edolas, only…”

 She trailed off, and the black cat continued.  “The King said that there were many other worlds, but they were only interested in Earthland; the others didn’t have as much magical power.”  He had a surprisingly deep voice.

 Kiyi sniffled.  “Can you get me home?”

 Everybody exchanged uneasy glances.  “Anima was destroyed.”  Lucy said softly.  “Edolas doesn’t have any more magical power, and… well, I…”

 “Of course we’ll get you home!”  Natsu crowed.  “We’re Fairy Tail, we can do anything!”

 Kiyi brightened, only to jump back with a screech when both Lucy, the redhead and the half-naked man bashed Natsu over the head.

 “Don’t make promises like that!”  Lucy shrieked at him.  “We don’t know if that’s even possible anymore!”

 “So I’m stuck here?”  Kiyi whispered, shaking.  “Forever?”

 “We ain’t said that.” The gruff voice of the other dark-haired man stopped her panic attack before it could even begin, placing a warm, heavy hand on her head.  “Just said it’d be hard.”  He gave her a roguish grin, though.  “Gihee, Salamander’s got a point!  We’re Fairy Tail!  We’ll find a way to get ya home – just might take a while.”

 Kiyi felt herself lightening – this gruff young man reminded her of her big brother.  Placing her left hand pointing straight up with her right fist just beneath it, she bowed, a tiny smile on her face.  “Thank you!  Thank you very much!”

“Very well,” The redhead sighed.  “In that case, we’ll take you back to the Guild with us in the morning.  But for now,” She turned back to the white haired girl.  “Lisanna!”

 She straightened immediately.  “Y-yes?”

 The redhead’s face lightened into a soft smile.  “Elfman and Mira will be at Kardia Cathedral.  We’ll stop there first.”

 Lisanna’s blue eyes grew even bigger, and she immediately took off, only to be yanked back by the rope the black cat had tied around her wrists.  The redhead quickly cut the rope, and they all followed after Lisanna as she, once again, took off towards the town that Kiyi had only just noticed.

Lisanna was very fast, Kiyi had to admit.  As they ran, the others introduced themselves as well: the half-naked man was Gray Fullbuster; the blue cat was Natsu’s partner, Happy, and the white cat, Charla, was Wendy’s; the black cat was called Panther Lily, and he was the partner of the gruff man, Gajeel Redfox.

 “Mira-nee!  Elf-niichan!”  And it was very touching, seeing Lisanna reunite with her older brother and sister. 

 Would Zuko cry, when he saw Kiyi again?  She wondered.

 

 


	3. Fairy Tale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years after Kiyi, Ursa & Ikem's scrapped attempt to move into the Palace (and a hell of a lot of training from the Kyoshi Warriors), they decide to try again. But before they can arrive, "spirit lights” suddenly take Kiyi away, leaving her in a strange new world. The people there are kinda weird, with magic instead of bending, odd hair colours and flashy clothes, but Kiyi believes that they can help her get home. After all, Fairy Tail mages are strong, and they always keep their promises!

 

 

“Erza!”  ‘Mira-nee’ exclaimed, finally pulling away from Lisanna.  “How did you…?”

“It’s a long story,” The redhead said in that brusque tone of hers.  “Anyway, this is Gajeel’s Exceed, Panther Lily, and a new recruit, Kiyi Hira’a.  They’ll both join the guild tomorrow, but for now, we’re all going to go home.”

‘Mira-nee’ nodded once turning back to her family, before whipping back around.  “Wait, where’s Kiyi-chan going to stay?”

Everybody froze for a second.  “S-she can stay with me at Fairy Hills for a little bit?”  Wendy offered hesitantly.

“There’s room at my house, so long as Natsu doesn’t steal my bed again,” Lucy added, glaring at the pink-haired boy in question.

“She’s coming with me to my place.” Gajeel grunted.  “That man from before was trying to hurt ya – Lily and me are more than enough to protect ya, gihee!”

“Gajeel!”  Erza snapped.  “It would be improper for –!”

“No, it’s ok!”  Kiyi interrupted.  “I don’t mind.  Actually, you remind me a lot of my brother, Zuko.  He’s always kind of mean to everybody, but he’s still nice to me – whenever he comes to visit, he tells me stories, and he teaches me how to fight!”

Everyone kind of stared at her for a moment, before Gajeel gave that strange laugh again.  “See?  Kid’s got spunk.  It’s final, then.  Lily and I’ll take her.  Come on, kid.”

 

***  _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

Zuko stormed through the palace, face like a thundercloud, Kiyi the doll shoved through his belt.  He’d helped his mother and Ikem to their lodgings, sent guards ahead to gather the criminals, and was now trying to locate his uncle, friend, and ex-girlfriend.

“Uncle!”  He shouted, finally losing his patience.  Where _was_ he?!

“Ooh, nephew, there you are!”  Iroh’s voice drifted from a room not too far ahead.

“Zuko, is something wrong?”  Katara’s voice added. 

He raced over, and reefed the door open.  “Katara, Mai, I need your help!”  He began quickly.

“No,” Mai said instantly.  “Find somebody else.”

“It’s not for me!”  He yelled, at his wits end.  “It’s for Kiyi, she’s missing!”

Mai’s eyes widened, and she turned back to face him quickly.  “What?”

“Who’d want to do anything to such a sweet little girl?”  Katara exclaimed.

“I need you two to go on Appa to help Aang look for her – it was a usurper group calling themselves the Ozai Society,” Zuko answered quickly.  “They ambushed us, they had an earthbender, and then there was this _bright light_ , and then she was – gone.”  He choked over the last word.

“How far out are they?”  Katara asked, all business now, her tea forgotten on the table.

“Aang’s searching the area where we stopped to camp.”  Zuko placed a map on the table, pointing to the area in question.  “I’ve sent guards on ahead to pick up the members we caught, and I told Aang not to go into the Spirit World until you got there.  Please,” He begged Mai.  “She’s ten.”

“What did they want with a little girl?”  Mai asked instead, eyes still hard.

“They wanted me to abdicate in exchange for her life,” Zuko growled.  “And I was going to do it, too.”

Everybody drew in a quick breath, at that revelation. 

“Nephew,” Iroh began, only to be overridden.

“I’ve already failed Azula as a brother – I wasn’t going to do it to Kiyi too!”  He snapped.  “Mai, please!  Will you go with Katara?”

Her steely eyes dropped to the doll at his belt.  “Fine.  But I’m doing it for Kiyi!”

Zuko’s face lightened, if only slightly.  “Thank you,” He said sincerely, clutching her shoulders once, before moving to exit the room.  “Uncle, I need your help dealing with this renewed coup of theirs!”

 

***  _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

Gajeel’s place was a small cottage in the forest edge, just outside of town.  It was maybe a little bit smaller than the house that Kiyi grew up in with her parents, but she thought it was very nice, all the same.

 “Excuse me, Mr Gajeel?”  Kiyi asked quietly.  She took his grunt for a ‘go ahead’ sound.  “What’s that mark on your shoulder?  The others all had it, too.”

 “This?”  He asked, jerking his thumb at the black mark on his left shoulder.  “It’s the Guild mark.  If you’re in a guild, they magically tattoo their mark on you somewhere.  Salamander, the little girl and Titania all have it on their shoulders, like me.  Stripper’s is on his chest, and Bunny Girl’s is on the back of her hand.  The she-devil, Lisanna’s sister, has it on her thigh… it can go anywhere.”

 “Is it always so visible?”  Kiyi asked.

 “Most people want it to be seen.” He told her with a shrug.  “It’s a sign of their pride in their guild.”

 “Will I get one?” 

 “If you join the guild tomorrow, yeah.”

 “Oh…”  They entered his house, and went about setting up the spare room for Kiyi, and then throwing together some food for dinner.

 “Hey, Gajeel?”  Another grunt.  “Why are they all different colours?”

 “Well, what’s your favourite colour?”  Gajeel asked back, smiling.

 Kiyi had to think for a bit.  “It used to be pink when I was little, but now it’s red.”

 He grinned.  “Salamander, the little girl and I were all raised by dragons, and our marks are the same colour as them,” He told her, before grimacing – he hadn’t meant to tell her that much.

 “Wow, really?!”  She exclaimed excitedly.  “My brother had to relearn his firebending from the dragons!  I think they were blue and red.”

 Gajeel whipped around at that.  “What?”  He croaked.  “What were their names?!”

 Kiyi blinked, before trying to remember.  “I think it was… Ran and Shou?  I’m not sure, I fell asleep in that story.”

 Gajeel sighed.

 “What was the name of your dragon, Gajeel?”

 He was quiet for a very long time, finally answering when he handed her a plate of food.  “Metallicana.  The Iron Dragon, Metallicana.”

 “Does that make you a metalbender, then?”  Kiyi asked curiously.  Gajeel barked a laugh at that.

 “No, I’m the Iron Dragon Slayer.  I use Iron Dragon Magic.”

 “Slayer?!”  Kiyi exclaimed, staring at him.  “You kill dragons?!”

 “What?  No!”  Gajeel fumbled.  “I was raised by a Dragon, why would I want to _kill_ one?  That’s just what my magic is called.  Dragon Magic is the only one capable of taking down Dragons, so when a human like me learns it, they become a Dragon Slayer.”

 “Oh, okay!”  Kiyi nodded, she got it now!  “But, does that mean you don’t have benders here?  Only Magic users?”

 Gajeel decided to gloss over the fact that he didn’t know what a ‘Bender’ was and just agree with her.  “Only magic.  But you used some before, when you took that guy out.  Fire Magic.”

 “What?”  Kiyi shook her head.  “No, I used firebending, didn’t I?”

 It was Gajeel’s turn to shake his head.  “That was fire magic – looked the same as Salamander’s.  I think you just unconsciously called forth fire magic, and since your brother already learnt his, uh, ‘bending’ from a dragon, then that may have effected why yours looked like Dragon Magic.”

 “What, really?!”  Kiyi exclaimed. 

 Gajeel winced.  “Not so loud!  That’s just what I think, and I ain’t that bright, so it’s just an idea.”

 “Will you tell me a story before bed, Gajeel?”  Kiyi asked excitedly. 

 He tried to scowl, really he did, but those big gold eyes got him in the end.  “Fine,” he grumbled.  “But only one!”

 

 

 

 

 


	4. Fairy Tail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years after Kiyi, Ursa & Ikem's scrapped attempt to move into the Palace (and a hell of a lot of training from the Kyoshi Warriors), they decide to try again. But before they can arrive, "spirit lights” suddenly take Kiyi away, leaving her in a strange new world. The people there are kinda weird, with magic instead of bending, odd hair colours and flashy clothes, but Kiyi believes that they can help her get home. After all, Fairy Tail mages are strong, and they always keep their promises!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kiyi's first mission! Any and all feedback regarding the pace of this fic is fully appreciated!

 

 

Gajeel and Lily sat at the kitchen table, brows furrowed.  Kiyi had fallen asleep halfway through Gajeel’s story about the hare and the turtle; the men had moved out so their conversation wouldn’t wake her.

“’S strange, ain’t it?”  Gajeel murmured, fiddling with a screw.

Lily hummed in agreement.  “I don’t think it’s likely we’ll be able to get her home.  Without the Anima…”

Gajeel grunted.  “We’re not gonna give up, though.  ‘S like Salamander said: we’re Fairy Tail.  We’ll just be realistic about it…”  Gajeel sighed then, running a hand through his wild mane of hair.  “C’mon, I’ll show ya your room, and we’ll deal with this mess in the morning.”

 

*** _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

When daybreak had a still-sleepy Kiyi struggle out of her room and follow an amazing smell into the kitchen, it was to find Gajeel cooking bacon and eggs, he and Lily having a debate over which strategy would best suit different battle situation.

 “Gajeel, infiltration is the key to – oh, good morning, Kiyi!”

 Kiyi stopped to yawn cutely, before replying, “Good morning, Lily, good morning, Gajeel.  Are we going to the guild today?”

 Gajeel gave his strange laugh again.  “You and Lily are gonna be joining today, aren’t ya?  Then we’ll see about training your magic up, and _maybe_ we’ll go on a job.”

 “A job?”  Kiyi asked, confused.

 Gajeel nodded.  “It’s how we get jewels – that’s the money system here.  And money’s what ya need to buy other stuff, like food and clothes.  But ya gotta eat, first!  Otherwise you won’t get stronger!”

 It didn’t take long for the three to eat and clean up.  Afterwards, they took Kiyi outside where the men ran her through some warm-up exercises, taught her some basic fighting forms to add to her repertoire, then finally had her attempt to call on her magic.  Kiyi struggled today, now that her life _wasn’t_ in danger, but she did manage to produce some small fires and sparks in a flurry of smoke, after some half hour or so.  Exhausted, Kiyi asked if they couldn’t meditate like her brother had told her to: Dragon Slayer and Exceed both readily agreed, saying it was good for the soul, as well.

 It was nearing eight o’clock by the time the three had showered and were ready to go to the guild – or rather, the boys were.

 “Come on, Kiyi!”  Gajeel growled, banging on her door.  He stopped when he heard her sniff, though, and smelt salt water.  _Oh shit!_   He panicked.  _Not crying!!_   “O-oi, what’s wrong?”

 “Gajeel, I don’t have any other clothes!  I can’t go to your guild smelling like this, I want to make a good impression!!”  Kiyi wailed.

 Oh, ok.  _This_ Gajeel could deal with.  “We’ll just ask Wendy if you can borrow something for today until we can buy you new clothes.” 

 There was more, relieved, sniffling on the other side.  “Really?”

 “Yeah.  You wait here, and I’ll go ask her.”  He tried to be gentle.

 “I’d be faster,” Lily offered. 

 “I know where I’m going,” Gajeel grumbled.  “Fairy Hills, the dorms, they’re only over the way.  I’ll just ask Titania to fetch the little girl, and be right back.”

 Thankfully, it was as easy as that.  Clothing manufacturing had been a thriving business at Caitshelter, and Wendy had brought some spare clothes with her.  Gajeel returned within half an hour, and provided Kiyi with a yellow and blue striped dress with white scale-like accents at the top and bottom, with white armbands that vaguely resembled feathers (there had been anklebands as well, but they didn’t fit with her sandals).  Kiyi came out as soon as she was dressed, struggling to tie her hair back up into a topknot at the back of her head with her raggedy pink ribbon. 

 “Do I look ok?”  Kiyi asked shyly.

 Gajeel and Lily offered her smiles.  “Of course.  Now, are ya ready to go?”

 Kiyi cheered.

 

***  _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

They arrived at the guild – a giant building made out of square blocks of stone, much to Kiyi’s surprise – at the same time as the people from last night, and thankfully, everyone was now wearing decent clothes. 

 “That looks so cute on you, Kiyi-san!”  Wendy exclaimed, making the other girl blush. 

 “Thank you!”  Kiyi squeaked out.

 “If you like, we can go shopping together later?”

 Kiyi smiled brightly and nodded, beyond words.

 Lisanna began to walk inside the building, and Kiyi watched in confusion as the guild all froze in shock, staring with wide eyes.

 “S-seriously?”

 “Y-you’re alive?!”

 There was suddenly a stampede of people running straight for the white-haired girl, screaming, “Lisanna!”

 “Don’t you dare touch her with your filthy mitts!”  Roared her brother, Elfman, his right arm suddenly changed into something bulky and vaguely metallic.

 “That’s the same reaction I had…” Natsu said, sweatdropping.

 “Yeah!”  Happy added, whilst Mirajane chuckled.

 “Thank goodness.  The guild’s just like it was before.”  Lucy added.

 “I see,” Gray joined.  “Looks like no one knows anything about the Anima.”

 “Anyway, what’s important is that everyone is safe.”  Erza stated.

 “This is messed up,” Gajeel said bluntly, closing his eyes.

 “So, this is a wizard’s guild…” Lily and Kiyi said together.

 “Lisanna!”  A tiny old man exclaimed, stepping forward.  Kiyi hid behind Gajeel again.

 “Master!”

 “I believed… Everyone raised in this guild is a child of this guild.  And what parent is there that doesn’t worry about their child?  And what parent is there that doesn’t believe in their child?  You can tell me all about what happened later.  You too, Natsu…”

 “Yeah, Ji-chan!”

 Kiyi sniffled, fighting back tears.

 “Anyway, you did great in coming home!”

 “Master… I am back home, aren’t I?”  Lisanna asked.  “I’m back home, right?”

 “That’s right.  This will always be your home.  Welcome home, Lisanna!”

 “WELCOME HOME, LISANNA!!”  The guild roared together.

 “I’m back!”  Lisanna cried, tackling the Master in a huge hug.

 Lucy and Wendy both shrieked in surprise, whilst Kiyi burst into tears, hiding her face in a flummoxed Gajeel’s shirt. 

 Eventually, the two girls calmed down, and it was then that the party started – although it was nothing like any party Kiyi had been to.  People were shouting _kanpai_ , drinking in excess, and laughing uproarsingly.  It didn’t take long before fights broke out amongst many of the male members.

 Kiyi sat with Wendy, admiring the dark gold mark on her left shoulder, the same colour of her brother’s eyes and in the same spot as Gajeel’s, listening in on everyone’s conversations and being introduced as the newest member to whomever came past their table.  One girl in particular caught Kiyi’s attention, a blue-haired lady that Gajeel couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off.  She introduced herself as Levy, a Solid Script Mage, and Kiyi could barely keep up with what she was saying – and that was before Kiyi tried to see what she was reading.

 “Eh?  Are you ok, Kiyi-chan?”  Levy asked worriedly, noticing that the smaller girl had started tearing up.

 “I can’t read your language!”  Kiyi wailed.

 “That’s ok!”  Levy said quickly, waving her hands in front of Kiyi.  “This isn’t the language we read in Fiore anymore, it’s an ancient language I’ve been studying!  I’ll teach you how to read ours though!”

 Kiyi sniffled, looking up at Levy with a watery smile.  “Really?”

 “Yeah!  Here, let’s start right away!”  Levy pulled out a strange looking stylus – a _light pen_ , Kiyi learnt – and began to write in the air, instructing Kiyi in each letter and it’s phonetics, and getting her to copy them out and repeat the learning back to her.  Levy was a good teacher and Kiyi a quick student, so by the time they’d both past out, cuddled up next to Gajeel and Lily on the floor, she had already mastered the basics, and the next day they planned to move on to base grammar.

 At least, that’s what the plan had been.  Instead, Gajeel decided to take Kiyi and Wendy with him and Lily to take down some bandits.  Levy had come along as well, so that she could continue Kiyi’s education in Fioran.

 “Eh, what’s _that_?!”  Kiyi exclaimed, staring up at the big, whistling chunk of metal

 “It’s a train,” Wendy told her cheerfully, holding her white Exceed, Charla.  “It’s a type of transportation.”

 “We need this to get to our job,” Gajeel said gruffly, handing her the flier he’d grabbed that morning.  “I’m going to nap; you can use that to practice your letters, figure out the job details that way.”

 Levy clenched her teeth.  “Gajeel!”  She exclaimed, looking cross.  “You can’t just –!”

 “It’s ok!”  Kiyi interrupted quickly.  “He’s helping – if I want to know what we’re doing, then I should figure it out on my own – that’s how you learn, right?”

 Levy sighed and grumbled, but went back to teaching Kiyi how to read and write Fioran.

 

It only took two hours for the train to get them from Magnolia to Daisy, the town afflicted by the bandits. 

“We’re going to scope the place out,” Gajeel instructed carefully.  “Me an’ Lily first.  We’ll come back when we know what we’re up against, and then you three and the white cat can come in, too.  Kiyi, you stick close to Levy and Wendy, alright?”

Kiyi nodded, and tried to be brave like her big brother.

Gajeel and Lily were only gone for five minutes, and once they’d returned and let the girls know what they were up against, they all snuck back around again, coming in at different angles: Gajeel from the north, Lily and Levy to the south, and Wendy, Charla and Kiyi from the west.

“Testuryu no Hokou!”  That was Gajeel’s signal!

 “Tenryū no Hokou!”  Wendy joined in, ducking out from the house they’d hidden behind.

 “Solid Script: Fire!”  Levy’s voice added.

 Kiyi watched with stars in her eyes as the three Fairy Tail wizards fought against the bandits.  Gajeel’s strange laugh came to her through all the screaming; he and Lily had started fighting the bandits with their fists.  Levy and Wendy, however, seemed to prefer mid- to long-range attacks, relying mostly on their magic.  Wendy was even carried into the sky by Carla, leaving Kiyi safely behind on the ground.

 “Heh, I’ll use you to stop them!”  A voice behind her exclaimed.  Kiyi turned to see one of the bandits with a knife ready.  “Legal guilds are always soft when it comes to kids!”

 Unfortunately for him, Zuko had already taught Kiyi what to do if she were ever mugged – which is sort of similar to the situation she was in now, if you squinted. 

Stepping forward at the same time as her attacker, Kiyi grabbed and twisted the hand holding the knife, shoved her elbow into his gut (she was too short for a sternal palm shot) and slipped one of her feet behind his enough to off balance him, and send him flying back a few paces.  Drawing in a deep breath, Kiyi grabbed at the flicker of fire inside her, and punched forward with the hand that now held the bandit’s knife, the small fire fizzling on the pavements just by his head.

Turning side on so that her new guild mark was visible, Kiyi grinned.  “I’m a member of Fairy Tail, too!  Don’t underestimate me, gihee!” 

“Aiyi!”  The bandit scrambled away, giving Kiyi confidence.  She could do this.  She could _do_ this!

Using the bow of her dress as a belt, she tucked the knife away and hoped for the best, Kiyi ran from behind the house and straight into the fight, jumping up and landing a solid kick in the back to a bandit who was about to attack Wendy.

 “Ah!  Thank you, Kiyi-san!”  Wendy exclaimed, eyes a bit wide at the close call.

 Kiyi grinned at her, before calling upon that flicker again, and began to perform some of the basic forms that Avatar Aang and Zuko had taught her, spinning and twirling through the bandits, magic fire falling from her fingers as if she’d been bending her whole life.

 She was Firelord Zuko’s little sister, the great granddaughter of Avatar Roku, and a member of Fairy Tail – _she could do this!!_

 


	5. Fairy Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years after Kiyi, Ursa & Ikem's scrapped attempt to move into the Palace (and a hell of a lot of training from the Kyoshi Warriors), they decide to try again. But before they can arrive, "spirit lights” suddenly take Kiyi away, leaving her in a strange new world. The people there are kinda weird, with magic instead of bending, odd hair colours and flashy clothes, but Kiyi believes that they can help her get home. After all, Fairy Tail mages are strong, and they always keep their promises!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hints about the S Class Exam, some slight Gajevy tones as well because I am trash, and Gajeel being a dork

 

 

“Gihee, ya did good, Kiyi!”  Gajeel exclaimed once all of the bandits had been tied up, thanks to Levy’s magic.

“Do you really think so?”  Kiyi exclaimed, eyes shining.

“For your first mission, and for someone who only learnt their magic two days ago, you did really well!”  Levy told her earnestly. 

“Kiyi-san was like a pro!”  Wendy added with a big smile.

“Yosh, now that we’ve wrapped them all up,” Gajeel interrupted, jerking his thumb at the bandits.  “Let’s talk about how we’re going to split the money.”

“Three hundred thousand jewels between four people and two Exceed…” Levy murmured.

Lily held up a paw.  “Wait.  I won’t need much of a cut – Kiyi-chan can have most of my half instead.  That way, she can get herself some supplies.”

 “That’s my Lily!”  Gajeel exclaimed proudly. 

 “Really, Lily?”  Kiyi exclaimed, shocked.  “You don’t have to do that!”

 “I don’t want anything, either,” Carla stated.  “If I need anything, Wendy will get it.”

 “Hn, Lily has a point though,” Levy mused.  “Kiyi-chan doesn’t have anything at the moment.  So, she can get the biggest cut from this job.”  She laughed then.  “Actually, you can just have mine, too.  At this time of year, just doing the job is good enough for me!  I’ll go out on another one as soon as we get back.”

 “’At this time of year’…?”  Wendy asked, exchanging a look with Gajeel, who shrugged.

 “Eh?  You don’t know yet?”  Levy asked, surprised.  With a teasing look in her eye, she hid her smirk behind her hand as she side-eyed Gajeel.  “Ahh, you’ll just have to wait until the Master announces it next week then, ~*tee hee*!”

 “O-oi, that ain’t fair!”  Gajeel exclaimed, which had Levy full out laughing at the face he pulled.

 “Levy-san, please, won’t you tell us?”  Wendy asked, pulling out her best puppy eyes; Kiyi joined in too.

 “Alright, alright!”  Levy laughed.  “First, we’ll hand them over to the local authorities and collect the reward, and I’ll explain it all as we do Kiyi’s shopping.  Ok?”

 

*** _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

“ _Eh_?!  S Class exam?!”  Gajeel exclaimed.

 Levy, leaning against Kiyi’s changing room, nodded to both him and Wendy.  “Mm.  It happens every year – but there’s no guarantee that someone will be picked.  Nobody won last year, Cana was devastated.”

“Huh, that drunkard?”  Gajeel frowned in confusion.

“Yeah, she holds the guild’s record after being selected for the last four years in a row.”

“ _Huh?!_ ”

“Um, is S Class really such a big deal?”  Kiyi asked, stepping out of the changing room in a dark brown turtleneck-dress with a gold maple leaf pattern, and gold sash.

 “Ah, that suits you, Kiyi-san!”  Wendy exclaimed excitedly.

 “Yeah, add that one to the pile!”  Levy added, before continuing her explanation.  “Now, S Class Mages are the top of the top.  They’re the only ones who are supposed to do S Class requests, the jobs where the slightest mistake would mean your life.  Of course, you get a larger reward thanks to that, but they’re really tough.  The Master is the only one who can clear you for S Class, and that’s only if you pass the tests in the exam.  Does that make sense?”

 Kiyi and Wendy both nodded.

 “Alright.  Now, Kiyi-chan, that’s two dresses, leggings, pajamas, boots… let’s get you one or two more outfits, a swimsuit and a coat, and some toiletries, and that should last until you can earn enough on your own.  Does that sound ok?”

 “Yes, Levy!  Thank you all so much!”

 “Ain’t nothing,” Gajeel told her, ruffling the top of her hair.  “We’re Fairy Tail.  We’re family.”

 “What do you want next, Kiyi-chan?”  Levy asked her gently, seeing the watery cast of the young Firebender’s eyes.

 “I want something I can fight in,” The littlest mage replied firmly.  “I like the dresses we’ve found so far, but I’d like pants too… and, maybe something that looks a bit more like what we wore in the Fire Nation, if I could…?”

 “Something a bit more Eastern in design, then?”  Levy asked back, forefinger on her chin as she mulled it over.  “Let’s ask at the counter if they know anyone who makes cloths in that style.  Otherwise, if we don’t find anything you like there, I have a friend in Magnolia who can make just about anything, if you show him what you want.  For now, we can get you the coat and stuff to add to the pile.  Let’s go!”

 “Oi, don’t you think you’re having a bit too much fun with this?”  Gajeel asked dryly as Kiyi and Wendy ran further into the shop to look for the final items on their impromptu list, Lily and Carla flying overhead, whilst the two older mages followed behind with what had already been picked out.

 “Well,” Levy mumbled, going a bit pink.  “It’s kinda like having a little sister, don’t you think?  Almost everyone is about the same age in our generation, so until Wendy and Kiyi-chan came along, there wasn’t anyone that was really _younger_ than us.  I always wanted a little sibling, you know.”

 “I didn’t.”  Gajeel returned abruptly.  “Too much worry.”

 Levy laughed.

 

*** _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

“Alright, that’s pretty much everything!”  Levy exclaimed cheerfully.  “Let’s take all of this to the counter, ok Kiyi?  And afterwards, if you ask Gajeel really nicely, he might let us go to that sweet shop just before the train station!”   She added the last bit in a stage whisper.  The two young girls cheered and shot off with the Exceeds flying overhead. 

 “Oi, now –”

 “Can you follow behind them?”  Levy interrupted.  “I shouldn’t be too long, just tell them I’ve gone to the bathroom or something.”

 “What are you –?”

 “It’s a surprise!”  She interrupted again.  “Quick, don’t leave Lily all alone with them, he might decide he wants to be Kiyi’s partner instead!”  Flashing him a bright grin, Levy ran in the other direction, waving over her shoulder cheekily.

 Now suffering a mild panic attack at the thought of losing his cat, Gajeel took off, as well.

 

 


	6. Fairy Treasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years after Kiyi, Ursa & Ikem's scrapped attempt to move into the Palace (and a hell of a lot of training from the Kyoshi Warriors), they decide to try again. But before they can arrive, "spirit lights” suddenly take Kiyi away, leaving her in a strange new world. The people there are kinda weird, with magic instead of bending, odd hair colours and flashy clothes, but Kiyi believes that they can help her get home. After all, Fairy Tail mages are strong, and they always keep their promises!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some AtlA themes come back in this chapter, Roku being all spirit-y, some hints of Gajevy fluff

 

 

“Aang!”  Katara called from Appa’s back, spotting her boyfriend sitting on a hillock over the ridge from the campsite where they’d lost Kiyi.  “Oh, sweetie.”  She said quietly, recognising the look on his face.

“I haven’t found any trace of her, or any evidence of Spirits, at _all!_ ”  The Avatar exclaimed wretchedly.

“It’s ok, Mai and I are here now,” Katara soothed.  “Why don’t you see if Roku or Heibai can help you find her, ok?  We’ll watch over you, I promise.”  She gave him a quick hug, picked up Momo, and moved to stand with Mai by Appa.

Aang drew in a deep breath, released it, and began to meditate.  After a moment, his tattoos lit up, and Katara felt Mai stiffen next to her.

“It’s ok.  He’s not in the Avatar State, not really.  He’s just become the bridge between this world and the Spirit World.  Hopefully he can find out where Kiyi is for us.”

“And if he can’t?”  Mai asked in her drollest voice, emotions locked away tightly.

Katara was quiet for some time, before whispering, “I don’t know.  I would guess that means that… there’s no Kiyi to find.”

 

*** _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

Their small group had ordered, found a seat, and started digging into their treats by the time Levy returned from her mysterious side trip.

 “What took you so long, Levy-san?”  Wendy asked curiously.

 Levy grinned brightly, holding up a prettily-wrapped parcel.  “Tada!  It’s for completing your first mission, Kiyi-chan!  Go on, open it!”

 Kiyi stared down at the present in shock, before opening it quickly to reveal an alphabet kit, a notepad, a light pen, and a pair of Gale-force Reading Glasses.

 “Ya spoiling her,” Gajeel complained, nibbling on some strange biscuit from the southeast made out of oats – the “only thing worth eatin’ in this shop”.  “Now she’ll expect a gift every time she does a mission!”

 “Don’t be stingy, Gajeel!”  Levy scolded.  She would have continued, only to be interrupted by a small firebender launching herself, sobbing, into Levy’s waist in a strangling hug.

 “T-thank you so, _so_ much, Levy!”  Kiyi wailed into orange material.

 “Hey, hey it’s alright!”  Levy laughed, sweatdropping a little.  “I’m just passing on a favour someone did for me when I first joined the guild.  So, when you’re on your feet, and you see someone in a similar situation, just remember to pass on the favour too, ok?”

 Kiyi nodded in her dress, trying to hide her tears – she was the great-granddaughter of an _Avatar_ ,  the sister of a _Fire_ Lord, she shouldn’t be such a crybaby!

 “Ano, Levy-san?”  Wendy asked quietly, head cocked to the side.  “How did you join the guild?”

 The Script mage’s lips twitched in a parody of a smile.  “My mother was an old friend of the guild.  I never knew my father, so when she died, Master took me in.  I had nothing of my old life, so he took me out, and helped me get all of the basics.”  At the shocked looks on everybody’s faces, she laughed a little, and said, “That was a long time ago though, so don’t worry about it at all!  Come on, are you ready for the train trip home?”

 Gajeel gave a grunt of agreement, and rose carefully, picking up a blueberry muffin and passing it to a surprised Levy.  “Yeah.  When we get back, you can go off on another job or whatever, and Kiyi is going to train with me and Lily.  Ya wanna join, Wendy?”

 The trip to the station, and the train ride that followed, was uneventful.  Levy took the time to help Kiyi get a better grasp of the Fioran language, and watched, amused, as the two little girls fell asleep after only an hour, leaning against each other’s shoulders.

 “Honestly,” Carla scolded good-naturedly, whilst Levy giggled.

 “They’ve tired themselves out!”  She told the Exceed.  “They’re still young, they’ve got plenty of time to build up stamina for these kinds of things.  You can have a nap as well, if you like.  Gajeel, Lily and I will wake everyone up before we get to the station.”

 Exceed, Script Mage and Dragon Slayer shared a companionable silence, until Gajeel finally asked, “Why’re ya tryin’ to make S Class?  Doesn’t really seem like your sort of thing.”

 Levy snapped back from the book world she’d entered, and blinked large hazel eyes up at him.  “That’s a strange question.  Why wouldn’t I want to get stronger?”

 Gajeel shook his head stubbornly.  “That ain’t it.  I can get gettin’ strong.  But S Class is somethin’ else.”

 Levy tapped her chin with a small sound of understanding.  “So you’re asking if I have an ulterior motive?”  She teased, watching as Gajeel shrugged uncomfortably.  After a few moments, Levy shrugged too.  “Well, I suppose you could say that.”

 To Gajeel’s shock, she returned to her book.

 “Well, what is it, then?!” He spluttered.

 Levy’s hands stilled with a page half-turned.  “That’s a really personal question, you know.”  She said quietly.

 Gajeel flushed red.  “If – well, ya don’t haveta answer it, y’know…”

 Levy’s lips twitched into a small smile.  “I know.  I suppose… it’s a little bit like Natsu’s reason.  He thinks that he can find Igneel if he’s an S Class Mage.  I think, somewhere along the line, I got the idea that if I became S Class, maybe my dad would hear about me, and maybe I could find out more about him.  But also…”  She fidgeted for a moment.  “Only a few people know this, but my mother had a close bond with a place we sometimes hold the exam.  I guess I’m hoping that, one day, I’ll be able to return to that place, as well.  Stupid, huh?”

 “Not at all, Levy!”  Lily began, surprised.  “It is an understandable motivator.” 

 The small woman offered him a grin, and went to go back to her book once again.

 Gajeel cleared his throat, making her pause.  “For the record,” He said gruffly.  “I think you’d make a good S Class mage.”

 Both wizards had heavy colour in their cheeks, and Levy managed to stutter out a thank you, before pretending to return to her book, whilst Gajeel turned back to the window, ignoring Lily’s questioning looks.

 Lily was sure he’d heard Happy say something that applied to this sort of a situation.

  _They liiiiiike each other!!_

 

*** _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

“Waah, what a weird place!”  Kiyi whispered, looking around at the strange forest.  Surely she was dreaming; wasn’t she just on a train with Gajeel and their guildmates?  “I wonder where this is?”

 “This is the Spirit World,” A man’s voice said behind her, making Kiyi jump half out of her skin.  Turning around sharply, she stood in a fighting stance, eyes narrowed at the elderly man in front of her.  He had a long white beard, and was dressed in Fire Nation robes.  He gave her a gentle smile, and said, “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Kiyi.  My name is Roku; I am your great grandfather on your mother’s side.”

 Kiyi stared up at him with her mouth open and eyes wide.  “Wow!  Zuko told me that we were related, but I never thought I’d get to meet you!  How am I here?”  She gasped.  “Can you get me home?!”

 He was already shaking his head sadly.  “Unfortunately not, little one.  This is the best that I can manage at the moment.  Aang is sure to come along soon, and I wanted to be able to pass on how you are faring to him, and your family.”

 Kiyi deflated, and nodded in understanding.  “Lucy said it would be hard to get me back,” she mumbled sadly.  “Can you… Can you ask Avatar Aang to tell my parents that I’m safe?  I’ve joined a Magician’s Guild in this country called Fiore, and I’m training my bending!  So when I come back, people won’t be able to use me against Zuko, and I’ll be able to beat them myself!  I went on a job today with my new friends, and I made a lot of money, which I promise I’ll spend responsively!  At the moment I’m living with one of my guildmates, and I’m learning how to read and write their language.  So…. So, they don’t need to be worried at all!”  Kiyi said all of that as bravely as she could, and tried very hard not to cry.

 Roku smiled down at her.  “I’ll be sure to have Heibei pass that on for you.  Now, I think you should go back to your body – you need to wake up now.”

 “But –!”

  _“Kiyi!  Come on, sweetie, we’re in Magnolia now!”_   _Levy’s voice drifted around them, and Kiyi desperately called back to Roku,_

_“Please tell my family I love them, and miss them!  I’ll be home before they know it!  I promise!  And a Fairy Tail mage always keeps their promise!”_

 


	7. Fairy Blast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years after Kiyi, Ursa & Ikem's scrapped attempt to move into the Palace (and a hell of a lot of training from the Kyoshi Warriors), they decide to try again. But before they can arrive, "spirit lights” suddenly take Kiyi away, leaving her in a strange new world. The people there are kinda weird, with magic instead of bending, odd hair colours and flashy clothes, but Kiyi believes that they can help her get home. After all, Fairy Tail mages are strong, and they always keep their promises!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not so crash hot at fight scenes, and that's a fair whack of this chapter, so please let me know what you think  
> Kiyi and Wendy bonding, Gajeel should not be a teacher, AtlA angst

 

 

“I-I-I wish Lucy-san was h-here with us!”  Wendy chattered.  “The-en we could h-hide in Horo-ologium-san!”

 “We don’t need Bunny-girl!”  Gajeel called back over his shoulder, blitzing ahead of the two young girls through the snow.  “Wendy, you’re a Dragon Slayer!  And Kiyi, you’re a fire mage!  And you’re both Fairy Tail wizards, too, so have a bit of pride!”

The girls both straightened up at that with identical, _Aye sir!_ s.  Kiyi bowed promptly as well, so whilst it did sound impressive, she and Wendy just looked mismatched.

“In some of Zuko’s stories, he kept himself warm by using a breath-based Fire Bending form.  He made it sound really easy, so maybe that will help me out?”  Kiyi whispered to Wendy.  “I think the Avatar does the same thing with his Air Bending, too!”

The two girls happily spent the next five kilometres of hiking learning the precision necessary to regulate their body temperatures with their magic and bending, much to Gajeel and Carla’s disgust.

 “They’re just wastin’ their magic, now!”  Gajeel grumbled to Lily.  “They should be savin’ it for the Blizzardvern, not usin’ it to keep warm!”

 “Perhaps,” the black Exceed grunted.  “But at least they are learning.  They’re training their endurance and control – don’t you think that’s a good thing?”

 “Well, yes,” Gajeel floundered.  “But what if we get to the nest and they’ve exhausted their magic!”

 “You and Lily are still at full power, aren’t you?”  Carla snapped.  “In any case, they’ll learn for next time.  Wendy should have remembered to bring a coat!”

 Just then, Kiyi and Wendy finally managed to catch up to Gajeel, now that they had the hang of the Breath of Warmth techniques.

 “Gajeel, will you please tell me more about the mission now?”  Kiyi asked cheerfully.

 “Didn’t ya read the flyer?”

 “Yes, but I don’t know what a Blizzardvern is.  We don’t have any of them in the Fire Nation.”

 “What, really?”  Dragon Slayers and Exceeds exclaimed.

 “They’re all across this continent,” Gajeel said.

 “There were some in the northern-most floating mountains in Edolas, also.” Lily added.

 Kiyi pouted.  “Well, Hira’a was a tiny little forest village in the Fire Nation.  The most exciting living thing you could find in the woods was a Platypus Bear.  Now what’s a Blizzardvern!”

 In the end, it was Gajeel who answered.  “They’re giant flying lizards, and they’re also called ‘White Wyvern’s, because of the colour of their scales.  People sometimes mistake them for Dragons, although they don’t look nothin’ like each other.  They only eat plants, and their favourite food is a rare type of healing herb, which grows here on Mount Hakobe.  You had a mission for that once, didn’t you, Wendy?”

 “Mm!  It was really scary then, too.  Gray-san and Natsu-san wanted to sell the scales for jewels, but we were only hired to get the herbs.”

 Gajeel cracked his knuckles then.  “Well, today we’re after those scales.  And you two are gonna get ‘em!  Here it comes!”

 “ _EH?!”_

 “RAW!”

 “ _AIYI_!!!”

 

*** _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 “Aang.”

 “Roku!  Please, I’m trying to find – ”

 “Kiyi is no longer in either of our worlds, Aang.”  Roku interrupted his successor gently.

 “ _What_?!”

 “She is fine, though.  Please tell my granddaughter that she has raised a very brave little girl.”

 “Roku, what do you mean, she’s not in this world?!” 

“There are more worlds in the universe than the two that you and I have been the bridge between, Aang.  Remember that.  Kiyi has been sucked into another world called Earthland by something called an Anima from a connecting world, known as Edolas.  Instead of bending, Earthland uses many different types of magic, and so, they have what they call “wizard guilds”, where different mages join together and work in teams.  Kiyi has joined a rather rambunctious guild called Fairy Tail; they will look after her.”

 Aang ran his hands over his face, stricken.  “How do you know all this, Roku?  Can you take me to her?”

 “I am sorry, Aang.  I have only been able to commune with her spirit whilst she slept.  Kiyi asks that you let her family know that she is safe and happy, and is being trained to read and write the local language, as well as control her bending.”

 “Oh no, no, no!”  Aang moaned.  “How do I explain this to Zuko?  What about Ursa and Noren!  Roku, _how do we get her back_?!”

 “I do not know, Aang.”  Roku said mournfully.  “In my lifetime, I once visited Earthland by accident when I was travelling through the Spirit World, and an early Anima sucked me up.  I have tried many times to revisit that world, and the friends I had made there, but I am unable to.  Kiyi claims to be looking in to it from her side, though.”

 “This is horrible!”  Aang exclaimed, collapsing to his knees.  “She’s only _ten_!”

 “But, she is my great-granddaughter.” Roku reminded him forcefully.  “She had dedicated, passionate parents who raised her well, and has had the influence of a protective and wise big brother for the last few years.  The guild she is in now is familiar to me, and if these modern Fairy Tail mages are anything like Mavis and her companions… I assure you, Aang, we have little to fear.  Fairy Tail will do whatever it takes to defend those they call their friends, no matter how impossible.

 “Besides, if they’re teaching her how to control her bending, there is nothing to worry about.  They are a sensible lot, if a little wild around the edges.  I’m sure they’re going through all of the theory they have on fire magic, and teaching Kiyi in as safe and stable an environment as can be found in the Fire Nation itself.  You have nothing to worry about.”

 

*** _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

“Tenryū no Hokou! … * _smash!_ *  It’s not working, Kiyi-chan!”

 Kiyi used one of the beginner forms Zuko and Aang had taught her, a series of punches that ended on a high kick, fire flying.  “It’s the same here!  Gajeel, what do we do?”

 The Iron Dragon Slayer was currently lounging on some snow-covered boulders and nonchalantly chewing some scrap iron.  “Oi, this ain’t my mission.  I’m jus’ supervisin’.  Metallicana always taught by doin’, so if it’s good enough for me as a brat, it’s good enough for you two now.”

 Dodging a wing attack from the Blizzardvern, the two girls ducked behind another outcropping, Kiyi repeating some choice words she’d overheard Sokka use to describe her half-sister, and directing them at Gajeel.

 “Kiyi-chan, what do we do?”  Wendy whisper-wailed.  “We aren’t strong enough!”

 Kiyi clenched her fists tightly.  “Then we make ourselves stronger!  I made a promise that I wouldn’t be used against Zuko again, and the first step to that is being able to defeat this Blizzardvern!”

 “But Kiyi-chan, you’ve only been able to use your magic for a few days, and I’m a support mage, not a fighter!”

 Kiyi felt as though a lantern-beetle had just flown above her head.  “You’re right!”

 “I am?”

 “I may have only been able to bend for a little while, but I’ve been watching other people do it for years!  Zuko and Avatar Aang always practice together, and the first time we went to live in the palace, Zuko had to – ”

 “RAWR!”

 “I’ll tell you later!  But, Wendy, can you do something to make me stronger?  As strong as Zuko?”

 “Y-yes?”

 “Alright then!  Do it now, please.  I’ll distract it, then on my signal, you use your breath attack to knock it out, ok?”

 “Aye, sir!  _O swift wind that dashes through the heavens!  Vernier!  O strength of arm to cleave the heavens!  Arms!_ ”

 Kiyi felt the power bubbling up beneath her skin, and realised that she’d felt something similar as a small(er) child, years ago on the day of Sozin’s Comet.  Maybe she’d always been a bender?  Deciding to think about that later, Kiyi concentrated on replicating something she’d heard about in Zuko’s stories: flying.

 Thinking that the principles were _basically_ the same as when she just used a kick instead of a punch, Kiyi took a flying leap over their boulder and blasted fire out of both of feet, Wendy’s _Vernier_ spell helping her fly quickly and remain aloft, even as she still tried to figure out the whole _directions_ thing.  Launching a high kick towards the Blizzardvern, Kiyi bought herself enough time to start the first form of the Dancing Dragon.  With the added boost from the _Arms_ spell, Kiyi’s fire raged as strongly as the Fire Lord’s or the Avatar’s, and as she came towards the end of the form, she concentrated all of her power into one last punch, and shouted, _“Now!”_

 “Tenryū no _Hokou!_ ”

 Gajeel and the Exceed all had to jump behind the rock outcropping they’d been sitting on to avoid the blast, but even then, Gajeel lost a few hairs from the sheer heat of the accidental Unison Raid.  When the fire stopped and the three peeked over their rocks (Gajeel with every intention of giving Kiyi a proper lecture on _why Natsu is not a good role model_ ), they found the two exhausted girls in a one-armed hug, matching proud grins on their faces, and the Blizzardvern knocked out in front of them.

 Kiyi looked over their shoulders at Gajeel, widened her smile, and laughed, “Gi hee!”

 

 

 

 


	8. Fairy Royale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years after Kiyi, Ursa & Ikem's scrapped attempt to move into the Palace (and a hell of a lot of training from the Kyoshi Warriors), they decide to try again. But before they can arrive, "spirit lights” suddenly take Kiyi away, leaving her in a strange new world. The people there are kinda weird, with magic instead of bending, odd hair colours and flashy clothes, but Kiyi believes that they can help her get home. After all, Fairy Tail mages are strong, and they always keep their promises!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a bit of light-hearted fun for Kiyi, some tearbending for Aang, some heebie jeebies for Gajeel, and a dizzy spell for Wendy. Carla is so done.

 

 

The home that Gajeel, Lily and Kiyi lived in was a moderately sized cottage on the edge of the East Forest.  Apparently, it had been a rundown old ruin when Gajeel bought it, just after he joined the guild, and he’d spent much of the time since then restoring it and reinforcing it with his own iron.  It wasn’t anything like the house that Kiyi had grown up in, of course: there were no sliding shoji doors, no rice paper walls or slanting terracotta roof.  It was made of white-washed bricks and wood and Dragon Iron, the roof going up into a triangle shape, and there were glass windows as well, which wasn’t something she had seen outside of the palace.

Kiyi’s house hadn’t been all that large.  There were three rooms inside the house, and one little one on the outside for using the chamber pot; her parents’ bedroom, hers, and the dining/kitchen room, which was basically a hearth in the middle of the room, with wooden flooring around it.  Each interior room had been six _shaku_ by three _shaku_ – a measurement that Kiyi had found to almost exactly match the Earthlander’s “foot” – except for the kitchen/dining room, because that was eighteen by twelve.  Gajeel’s house, though, had many rooms in comparison.  Three “small” bedrooms (there was room enough for a single bed, a chest of drawers and a bookshelf or small wardrobe each, he said), a bathroom (with a _really_ fancy chamber pot inside – it _flushed!_ – and a mini waterfall called a _shower_ ), a kitchen, a dining room, although Gajeel’s name for it seemed to change from day to day, and an “attic” as well.  Kiyi liked the attic, even if it was dark and cobwebby, because she could look through the window on one side to see the forest, and through the other to see Magnolia. 

All in total, Gajeel’s house had seven rooms, with three on either side of the hallway, and one little one in the roof.  When Kiyi walked inside after a workout with Gajeel and Lily in the back yard, she had to walk past their rooms first, with Gajeel’s on the left and Lily’s on the right.  If she turned into the next room on the left, then she could have a quick shower before they went to the guild or started on dinner, depending on the time of day.  If she turned to the right though, then Kiyi would walk into her room.  If she kept going down the hallway, then she would have the kitchen on the other side of her room, and the dining room on the other side of the bathroom.

She had told all of this to a very curious Wendy on their trip back down from Mount Hakobe, Gajeel carrying the majority of the Wyvern scales, and the girls struggling under what “little” they’d been given.

 “You know, Kiyi-chan, I was raised by a Dragon in the woods, when I was really little,” Wendy told her.  “And then one day, she disappeared.  It was then that I met Jellal, who we just found out was the Prince of Edolas.  He and I travelled together for weeks, until he had to go away.  That’s when he left me at Caitshelter.”

 “You weren’t always at Fairy Tail?”  Kiyi panted back.  They were only half way down the mountain.

 “No, I’ve only been with the guild for a few months…  Caitshelter wasn’t big, either.  The houses were mostly huts and cottages, but we had each other, and we had room enough for our clothing manufacturing, so nobody really minded.  I used to go on missions to other towns, though, and they always seemed so big to me!  Magnolia is probably the biggest I’ve seen in Earthland.  What about you?”

 “My brother, Zuko, tried to get us to live with him for a little while, after he found Mom again, so he took us back with him to the Fire Nation Capital.  That was _huuuge_ compared to Hira’a!  And trying to learn where everything was in the Palace was really hard too, especially for a five year old who’d never left her hometown before.”

 “Palace?”

 “Yeah.  Zuko’s the Fire Lord.”

 “Fire Lord?  What’s that?”

 “Well, he’s the ruler of the Fire Nation, just like the Chiefs rule the Water Tribes or the King rules the Earth Kingdo – ”

 “ _Huh?”_   Apparently, Gajeel and the Exceeds had been listening, too.

 “Y-your brother is royalty?”  Gajeel stuttered, ears going pink.

 “Yeah – didn’t I say that in the beginning?”

 “No!”  Everyone shouted back. 

 Wendy started to panic, sweating bullets.  “We really, _really_ need to get you back now!  What will your country do without their princess?!”

 Kiyi blushed and sweatdropped a little.  “No, I – um, I’m not the princess.  Azula, our sister, is, but I’m not.  I’m just their half-sister, so no royalty for me.  But that’s ok!  Zuko says he’s always in meeting with officials and politicians and nobles, and that’s really boring, if you ask me, so… I don’t really mind, most of the time.  I like being _just Kiyi_ , you know?”

 The others all seemed to have developed a twitch, at that, and appeared to be listing to one side.

 “But… I mean, sometimes Zuko takes me and my parents with him and the Avatar, if they’re going to a _really_ boring meeting.  That way, we all get to spend time together, and then when Zuko’s in a meeting, my parents and I get to go exploring!  So I’ve been to lots of places in the world now, like the Colonies, and the Earth Kingdom, and once we went to this _biiig_ swamp and got to eat bugs!  After the move, we were supposed to go to the Southern Water Tribe, so I’m a little upset that I’ve probably missed that, but there’s always the future, right?”

 Lily pulled himself together first, shaking his head rapidly and flying over to place a comforting paw on Kiyi’s shoulder.  “You are very brave, Kiyi-chan.”

 Kiyi blushed again, and laughed awkwardly, starting down the mountain once more.  “Not really – just optimistic!  It’s like you all keep saying, Fairy Tail always keeps their promises, and they’re strong.  We’ll figure a way home for me soon enough, I know it!”

 “Aye, aye, your majesty!”  Wendy chirped cheerfully, following.

 Kiyi sweatdropped.  “Please don’t call me that, Wendy.”

 “Whatever you say, Kiyi-hime,” Gajeel added gleefully, blitzing down the range again.

 This time, Kiyi’s whole face went red.  “Hey!  Guys, don’t be mean!  Gajeel!  Wendy!  Oi!”

 

*** _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

“We’re home!”  Wendy cheered as they entered the guild with their earnings.

 “Welcome back!” Mirajane answered cheerfully.  “Oh my, are you girls ok?”

 Exchanging looks, Kiyi and Wendy could see what Mira meant.  They’d left that morning looking neat and presentable for the client, with Wendy in the yellow and blue patterned dress she’d leant Kiyi, and Kiyi in the brown and gold dress they’d bought yesterday.  They returned looking like a cyclone had chewed them up and spat them back out through a blizzard and a Natsu-esque campfire (which is basically what happened, anyway), their dresses crinkled, torn and singed around the edges, their hair a mess (half of Kiyi’s had come out of its topknot), a varied collection of scrapes and bruises, and Kiyi even had a line of dried blood to her chin from when she’d bitten her tongue.

 “Gajeel!”  Mira scolded.  “Did you make them fight that Blizzardvern all on their own?!”

 “It’s ok, Mira-san!”  Wendy said quickly, before Fairy Tail’s Devil could do anything to the poor Iron Dragon Slayer.

 “We were just training,” Kiyi added cheerfully, attempting to put her hair back into her usual style.  “And look at all the jewels we got in return!”

 Mira pouted, hands on hips.  Gajeel started to sweat nervously.

 “We’re really fine, Mira-san.”  Wendy said sincerely.  “We need to get stronger, so Gajeel was helping us.”

 “Zuko always says that combat is the best teacher for a bender, anyway,” Kiyi added quickly, noticing how shifty Gajeel was starting to get.  “Can we do another one?”

 Mira sighed and shook her head with a small smile.  “If you can find one that fits you, then of course you can, Kiyi-chan.  But maybe you should freshen up first?”

 “Nah, grab the job first,” Gajeel finally spoke up.  “That way you know you’ve got a job before you go anywhere.”

 “Ok!”  The two girls said happily, running over to the Request Board together, Wendy letting Kiyi read the job descriptions for practice.

 “Gajeel,” Mira said in a deadly voice, causing shivers to run up the Dragon Slayer’s spine – and not the good kind, either.  “I hope you continue to look after those two little girls.”  She was still smiling – he had a serious case of the heebie jeebies now!

 “T-tch, ‘s how Metallicana taught me, an’ how Igneel taught Salamander.  Those girls are tough, it won’t hurt them to learn the same way.”

 “Gajeel,” Mira started again, only to be interrupted by a sudden barrage of people going out on jobs.  Gajeel took the opportunity to slink over to the request board, where a very dizzy Kiyi and Wendy had fallen to their butts on the floor.

 “T-they really want to be S Class,” Kiyi mumbled, roosterpigs spinning around her head and stars in her eyes.

 “A-aye,” Wendy agreed groggily. 

 “Pathetic,” Carla sniffed from the air.

 Gajeel sweatdropped, and after raking his eyes quickly over the requests that were left, sighed.  “How ‘bout we just go back to my place and train there?  You two don’t have to change or nothing, then.”

 “Aye, sir~!”  They warbled, before collapsing back on to the floor, knocked out.

 Gajeel sighed again.  “Come on, Hime, Miko.  Let’s go.”  With a girl over either shoulder and two Exceed behind him, he set off for the Forest.

 

*** _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

“Aang, did you find her?”  Katara asked excitedly, watching as her boyfriend came out of his meditation.  “Aang?”

 The Avatar’s ducked his head, his shoulders up around his ears.

 “Let’s go back to the Palace.  I have to talk to them.”

 “Aang, sweetie, what’s wrong?”  Katara asked, worriedly.

 “I’m _not_ leaving without Kiyi,” Mai told him firmly, sharp eyes narrowed.

 “Kiyi isn’t in this world anymore,” Aang told them, drawing in a deep breath.  “In fact, she isn’t in anyone that I can get to.  She’s not coming back.  And I don’t know what to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Just as a note, Wendy’s epithet in the English Sub is Tenkou no Miko, or Maiden of the Sky. Since Gajeel tends to refer to people by either their epithet or his own weird nicknames (and it sounds better than Little Girl) I figured I’d go with Princess and Maiden *shrug* **


	9. Fairy Delinquent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years after Kiyi, Ursa & Ikem's scrapped attempt to move into the Palace (and a hell of a lot of training from the Kyoshi Warriors), they decide to try again. But before they can arrive, "spirit lights” suddenly take Kiyi away, leaving her in a strange new world. The people there are kinda weird, with magic instead of bending, odd hair colours and flashy clothes, but Kiyi believes that they can help her get home. After all, Fairy Tail mages are strong, and they always keep their promises!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bucket-tonne of feels for AtlA, typical Fairy Tail madness, Gajeel being an arse and Levy being a cheeky sh*t, with a side of Team Shadowgear

 

 

“ _WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU CAN’T BRING HER BACK?!_ ”

 “Zuko, I – ”

“ _You’re the AVATAR, Aang, you’re the bridge between the worlds!  How can you NOT reach her?!_ ”

“I’m only the bridge between this world and the Spirit World!  Roku says that – ”

“ _I thought you didn’t listen to Roku anymore_?!”

“Nephew, please,” Iroh said softly.  Ursa sat bent over double beside him, tears streaming down her face as Ikem tried to comfort her.  “Anger will help no one here.”

Zuko slumped to the ground, distraught.  “Then… Uncle, what do we do?”

“That, I do not know, nephew.  Whilst I have been to the Spirit World before, looking for my son, I have never been anywhere else, I’m afraid.”

“…Your son…?”  Aang whispered, eyes wide.  He had never heard that particular piece of information.

“My beloved Lu Ten died during the seize of Ba Sing Se, and I searched the Spirit World to find him again.  This is different, though.  You say that Avatar Roku believes that Kiyi is alive?”

Aang nodded.  “He said that she’s in a world that has magic, instead of bending.  There’s a guild over there, Fairy Tail, which has taken her in.  They’re teaching her fire bending, and how to read and write their language.  She’s earning money there, and working really hard…” Looking to Ursa and Ikem sadly, Aang added, “She said that she’s looking for a way back on her side, and not to worry, because Fairy Tail is strong, and they never go back on their promises.  Roku says that you should be proud of her, and that she’s being very brave.”

 “Of course she is,” Zuko mumbled, face in his hands.  “She’s Kiyi.  She’s the bravest little girl in the whole of the Fire Nation.  And she’s going to come home.  No matter what.”

 

*** _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

“I don’t like it!”  Jet hissed to Droy over lunch, between missions.

 Droy grinned.  “Hey, whoever gets the flyer first gets the job!”

 “What?  No, I already forgot about that.  I’m talking about little Kiyi-chan!  Did you know she’s living with that monster, Gajeel?”

 “ _Eh?!_   That sweet little girl?  I thought she was staying with Wendy at Fairy Hills!”

 “That’s what I thought too, but I overheard Lucy asking her what it was like being the only girl in the house, and – ”

 “What are we still doing here then?!”  Droy shouted, startling some of the other restaurant patrons as he stood suddenly, a manic light in his eyes.  “We have to defend that innocent little girl!  If we leave her with that monster for too much longer…”

  _The image of a very rowdy Kiyi, dressed in corset, mini skirt, denim jacket, sunglasses and multiple piercings, a gun over one shoulder and a stolen car behind the other, suddenly popped into both mages’ heads._

_“I’m takin’ this fer the glory of the Fire Nation!  Gi hee hee hee!”_

 “Waah!  Kiyi-chan~!”

 Quickly, the two mages dropped payment for their meals, Droy hopped onto Jet’s back, and they took off down the street … only to skid to a stop in front of the guild.

 “Ne, Droy,” Jet asked.  “Do you know where Gajeel lives?”

 “Sure!  It’s… you know, it’s over by that place, with the thing…?”

 “Let’s ask Mira-chan.”

 “Aye, sir!”

 Of the eldest Straus sibling, she was currently drying the dishes that Kinana-chan had been kind enough to wash for her earlier, casually minding her own business (and everybody else’s, on the side, of course), when the male members of Team Shadowgear rushed straight up to her at the bar, getting right into her face.

 “Ara, ara!”  Mira exclaimed, one hand to her chest.  “Boys, what’s – ”

 “Mira-chan~!”  They wailed together.  “Where’s Kiyi-chan?!”

 “Eh?  Kiyi-chan?  She and Wendy are training at Gajeel’s.”

 “How do we get there?”  Jet demanded, Droy nodding over his shoulder, for some strange reason.

 “You go to the western edge of the East Forest, by the river, and look for the cottage with iron fittings in the window.  Why?”

 “No time!”  They shouted back, speeding off again.

 “Ara, ara!”  Mira murmured, one hand to her cheek.  “I wonder what that was about?”

 Had she gone to the western edge of East Forest, then she would have found out that there was a little bit of spying going on.  Jet and Droy were crouched behind some bushes behind Gajeel’s house, mud streaked on their cheeks and leaves and twigs in their hair (a tiny bush had been stuck over Jet’s hat, which, you know, was totally non suss).  Their eyes were glued on Kiyi and Wendy, slung over each of Gajeel’s shoulders.

 They clasped their hands together, and whisper wailed the girl’s names in despair.

 “Gajeel!”  Kiyi’s voice suddenly came from the house, clearly.  “Put us down, we’re awake now!”

 “Gajeel-san!”  Wendy’s voice wailed, mortified.

 “Yeah, yeah,” The ‘monster’ grumbled, putting both girls down.  “Ya ready to train now?”

 Kiyi was bouncing on the balls of her feet, but Wendy didn’t look particularly convinced.

 “A-ano…”

 Kiyi reached over, and grabbed both of Wendy’s hands in her own.  “We can grow strong together, Wendy!  Just like my brother and the Avatar did.”

 Wendy was hesitant for only another second, before nodding and smiling widely.

 Gajeel grunted, before saying, “Right, ya ready?”

 “Wait, wha –?” The girls began, turning to face him, before screaming and rushing away as he launched his Demon Poles at them.

 Jet and Droy were white with terror, frozen as they watched Gajeel try to take out the two little girls.

 “Tetsuryū no Hokou!”  He roared, the twisting breath attack blasting out the ground where the two girls had just been.

 Jet and Droy feinted.

 

*** _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

Kiyi and Wendy were crouched behind the bushes, Wendy white faced and Kiyi flushed in anger.  Remembering that Dragon Slayer’s had senses as sharp as the creatures that taught them their magic, Kiyi had hidden them just downwind of Gajeel, and made sure to keep her voice barely above a breath.  “Do that thing from Hakobe.  I’ll distract him, you knock him out.  Now!”  Kiyi launched herself over the bushes and then into the air on a burst of fire, movements wobbly.

 Gajeel gave his trademark laugh, and launched a transformed arm straight for Kiyi.  Nimble as a hogmonkey, she landed on his arm-pillar and punched, _hard_ , fire flying straight into Gajeel’s face.

 “Gya!  Kiyi, what the hell?!”  He roared, losing the transformation so that he could brush cinders out of his hair with both hands.

 Doing a low sweeping kick, as though she was playing earthball in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se, Kiyi launched another fire blast at the Iron Dragon Slayer, forcing him to jump backwards again.

 “Dammit, Kiyi!  _What the f–_?!”

 “Do it now, Wendy!”

 “Ok!  _O swift wind that dashes through the heavens!  Vernier!  O strength of arm to cleave the heavens!  Arms!_ ”

 Kiyi concentrated hard on the spark that was deep inside her, coaxing it into full, roaring life at the tips of her fingers, even as a red glow surrounded her, and she hovered into the air.  Drawing in a deep breath (“ _fire bending comes from the breath – always remember to breath properly in a fight, like this_ ”; “ _yeah yeah, sifu hotman, I got it!_ ”), Kiyi balanced on her left leg, arms raised above her head. A spinning, intricate red circle lit up above her head.

 Then she launched into the eight-step sequence that her brother and the Avatar had shown her, the night she came to Earthland, only instead of just bending, she added an extra little flair of magic, too.

 “ _Ryū no Mai!_ ”

 Somewhere around the dance’s direction twist, Kiyi became aware that Levy’s teammates (Jed and Deroi?  Something like that) were watching from some bushes nearby, although it was something she absently acknowledged, and then ignored, continuing with the remaining motions of the sequence.  At the end, Gajeel was still cursing, trying to get the ashes out of his face; Kiyi rose out of the way slightly, embers flying around her and the glow of Wendy’s spell still giving a red cast to her silhouette.

 “Wendy!  Now’s your chance!”

 “Right!”  Wendy drew in a deep breath, concentrating, before launching her own attack.  “Tenryū no Hokou!”  Gajeel was knocked backwards, tripping over his own feet.  Having cast _Arms_ and _Vernier_ on herself, as well, Wendy then sped forward quickly, arms coming up and over, wind trailing from her fingertips.  “Tenryū no Yokugeki!”

 Gajeel landed flat on his back, slightly winded.  Before he could recover, however, the two girls had dashed forward as soon as he had tripped, and were crouched over top of him, Kiyi holding a blade of fire under his throat, and Wendy with whirlwinds dancing in the palms of her hands.

 “… Ya ain’t bad.”  He finally admitted grudgingly.

 The girls cheered, jumping around in a circle at their success, hugging each other.  “We did it, we did it!”

 Jet and Droy, however, felt like feinting again.

 “They – they just… Gajeel!”  Jet stammered.

 “What powerful little girls!”  Droy added.

 Both suddenly sagged to one side, a black cloud over their heads.  “We barely even stood a chance against him…”

 “But, you know…” Jet recovered first.  “Didn’t they look cool, just then?”

 “Yeah,” Droy agreed.  “Did you see Kiyi?  She looked like a fairy…”

 There was a sudden gasp behind them, and a clicking of fingers.  “That’s it!  That can be her name!”

 “Waah, Levy-chan!”  The boys fell out of the bushes, and Gajeel looked over with a sneer on his face.

 “Wondered when you were gonna show yaselves,” He grumbled.

 “Oh, you were there the whole time, Levy, Jet, Droy?”  Lily asked, even as Carla was flying down to scold Wendy.

 Levy shrugged good naturedly.  “I haven’t been here all that long.”  Her eyes turned sly, and she hid her mouth behind one hand and side-eyed Gajeel.  “I did see Wendy-chan and Kiyi-chan whoop Gajeel’s butt, though!”

 He flushed dark red, but before he could protest, Levy turned back to the girls.  “Anyway, I’ve got it, Kiyi-chan!  Your epithet!”

 “My what?”

 “The name they call you by,” Levy said cheerfully.  “I just thought of it now!  How about …”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I'm that kind of a shit
> 
> Anyway, just a note about the fire: the way I see it, firebending is /more/ (not quite the word I want here…) than fire magic. Do we see Gray, Elfman or any of Natsu’s other opponents covered in burns? Nope. Meanwhile, Zuko’s practically missing half his face, and we’ve seen a number of other characters (Bato, Song, Earth Kingdom soldiers) with severe burn scarring. Therefore, if Kiyi shoots fire into Gajeel’s face, it’s gonna be painful. Natsu? Just annoying. That’s just me, though


	10. Fairy of the East

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years after Kiyi, Ursa & Ikem's scrapped attempt to move into the Palace (and a hell of a lot of training from the Kyoshi Warriors), they decide to try again. But before they can arrive, "spirit lights” suddenly take Kiyi away, leaving her in a strange new world. The people there are kinda weird, with magic instead of bending, odd hair colours and flashy clothes, but Kiyi believes that they can help her get home. After all, Fairy Tail mages are strong, and they always keep their promises!

 

 

 

As he’d suspected, Iroh found Ursa by the turtleduck pond.  After Zuko had finished yelling at the Avatar, the two young men had sat down and tried to figure out what they would do next.  Ikem had insisted they let him help, even if it was to just hold on to Momo the Lemur, but Ursa had fled to grieve alone.  Iroh had let her have some time to herself, before he quietly removed himself from the meeting room and slowly made his way to find her.

 “Was this how you felt,” She asked quietly, once he had settled next to her, “when you lost Lu Ten?”

 “When I lost my son, I was devastated.  _How could this happen_ , I thought.  _Why is this the way of the world?_   You may not remember, but my wife and I had already lost two other children before we were blessed with his birth… though my dearest Lan Fan did not make it through the night.  I was so lost without her, but at least then, I had had Lu Ten to keep me going.  So when I lost him, it was as though the sky had gone black, and the world had lost all meaning.  I travelled aimlessly, until one day I had the idea to search for him in the Spirit World ...  He was not there.  In defeat, I returned home to find my father gone, and my brother on the throne,” Iroh gave Ursa a shrewd look then, out of the corner of his eye.  “It was Zuko who gave me the courage to continue living.  I do not think I would still be here, if it wasn’t for him.”

 “Why are our families cursed?”  She whispered, staring at the mother turtleduck and her chicks.  “Every time I come to this blasted palace, I lose something precious to me.  I know that Zuko wants us to be a proper family again, but… we should never have come.  Not after last time.”

 Iroh gave a great gusting sigh.  “If I am honest with you, Lady Ursa, I believe our Firelord thinks the same.  He is blaming himself more heavily for Kiyi’s disappearance than anything else.  It was only because of all the self-defence training that he and the Kyoshi Warriors had been giving her that my nephew thought that, maybe, just this once, he could have the happy family that he so desperately wanted.  I fear that if we do not find a way to bring Kiyi back, it may be the end of him.”

 Ursa closed her eyes and placed a hand over her mouth, a single tear rolling down her cheek.  Iroh laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, faced the pond, and grieved for the lost little girl who had so cheerily called him _General Uncle_.

 

*** _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

Master Makarov was having an amazing day.  The Council hadn’t sent in any paperwork at all~!  So this left him plenty of time to do things he wanted to do, like read _Sorcerer Weekly_ , and photospreads, and actually put some effort into figuring out who was going to take part in this year’s S Class Exam – oh, and worry about the newbie.

 “Mira-chan~!”  He called, flipping from the banister down to the bar.

 “Hai, Master!” 

 “Tell me, how is young Kiyi-chan going?  I haven’t seen her around the guild much.”

 Mira laughed.  “That’s because she hasn’t been in enough!  She’s been going on missions with Wendy and Gajeel all week.  For someone who only learnt magic a few days ago, she’s doing really well!”

 Makarov nodded along, smiling serenely and knocking back a mug of ale.  _Gajeel and Wendy are such good teach – *spit take*_

 “Gajeel?!  He’s been taking those little girls on missions?!” 

 Mira continued to smile blithely.  “Mmm!  They captured some bandits in Daisy Town with Levy, and then they went and helped set up some stalls in the market for Haruna-baachan, and today they went up to collect some Blizzardvern scales, and then they went back to Gajeel’s for more training!”

 Makarov felt as though there were many little Happy’s spinning around his head.  “He… he’s been training them…?  O-oi!  Bickslow!  Get over here, I have a job for you!”

 “Yo, Master.” 

 “ _Master, Master!_ ”  His dolls imitated.

 “I need you and your dolls to go and sp – ahem, I mean, I need you to make sure that Gajeel is correctly training Wendy and Kiyi, heh heh!”

 “Huh?”  Bickslow cocked his head to one side, puzzled, before shrugging, agreeing and departing.

 “Master,” Mira said warningly behind him, making a dark shiver run up Makarov’s spine.  “I hope you’re not being mean to Gajeel!”

 “Ah, no no, Mira-chan!  I’m just looking out for those two little girls!”

 The Devil pouted, but turned away to resume drying off a plate.  “You know…” She said quietly.  “I think he’s good for them.  When I first met Kiyi-chan, she was so confused and upset.  But now she smiles and laughs like any other member of our guild. Wendy-chan’s grown, as well, even in just a week.”

 Makarov grumbled and cleared his throat.  “Well, it won’t hurt to check, anyway.  No one in this guild knows the meaning of “holding back”.”

 At least he got a giggle out of Mira, for that one.

 

*** _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

Bickslow didn’t really get what the big deal was with Gajeel training those two pintsized girls.  Sure, the Iron Dragon Slayer was what they were calling _rough around the edges_ , but then, so were most members of the guild.  From what Bickslow had seen every time the three unlikely partners were in the guild, Gajeel treated them fairly and kindly, in his own way.  He made them learn through experience, but never let them get too far out of their own depth, and the changes in Kiyi and Wendy were blatantly obvious, even after such a short time.  But if the Master was going to go and be overly cautious, that wasn’t really Bickslow’s business, was it?

 When Laxus had decided to take over Fairy Tail, he had asked Bickslow and his dolls to find the homes of the two ex-Phantom mages, as a precaution.  That water woman had been easy enough, Ever had spotted her when she’d gone back to Fairy Hills for a new change of clothes, but Gajeel had been more difficult.  He’d always moved like he expected to be followed, and Bickslow and his babies had struggled to pinpoint the place he was calling home right up until the evening of the Fantasia Parade, and that was completely by accident – that is to say, Bickslow drunk himself senseless after Laxus’ expulsion, and then got lost trying to find his way home again.

 “Oh, you were there the whole time, Levy, Jet, Droy?”  Aha, they were just ahead!  Was that the black flying cat of Black Steel’s?

 “I haven’t been here all that long.”  That was the little bookworm.  “I did see Wendy-chan and Kiyi-chan whoop Gajeel’s butt, though!”  Aw, what, he and his babies missed that?!

 “Anyway, I’ve got it, Kiyi-chan!  Your epithet!”

 “My what?” 

 “The name they call you by.  I just thought of it now!  How about – !”

 “ _GAJEEL!_ ”  There was a blur of pink and white and blue, and Bickslow was sent flying into the clearing by an overeager Natsu.  “ _WENDY!  Come on, let’s goooo!_ ”

 “Natsu-san!?”  Wendy shrieked.

 “Bickslow?!”  Team Shadowgear exclaimed, even as the Seith mage pulled himself to his feet with a scowl.

 “Oi, Salamander!”  Gajeel roared.  “What the f-arickin’ hell do ya think ya doing at my house?!”

 “Mira told us where you lived!”  Happy exclaimed.  “Ah, hello Carla, would you like a fish?  WAH!  No, we don’t have time for that!  Come on, we have a train to catch!”

 “The hell are ya on about, blue cat?”  Gajeel sneered.

 “There’s a fire dragon in Margaret Town!”  Natsu exclaimed, bouncing from foot to foot.  “Come oooon, let’s go!”

 “Didn’t ya learn from last time?”  Gajeel scolded.  “They left us, didn’t they?  Yer just getting yer hopes up aga –”

 “Not this time!  This time it’s real!”   Natsu roared.  Finally losing patience, he grabbed Gajeel and Wendy’s hands and tore off for the train station, Exceeds close on their tails.

 Left behind in the clearing, Bickslow, Kiyi and Team Shadowgear all blinked in surprise at the sudden turn of events.

 “O-oi!”  Bickslow exclaimed. 

  _“Oi, oi!”_

“Don’t leave without us!  Gajeel!”

  “ _Gajeel, Gajeel!  No fun, no fair!”_

 Levy McGarden, Solid Script Mage extraordinaire, Fairy Tail member and leader of Team Shadowgear, felt uncomfortably like she had just missed a very important opportunity, the kind a book would spend pages and pages building up to.  But Levy McGarden was not a book character (and anyway, even though she loved to read, she was hopeless at writing), so she made her decision now, and decided she’d just deal with any consequences later.

 Laughing brightly, Levy took Kiyi’s hand in hers, said cheerfully, “Let’s go on an adventure, Kiyi-chan!” and ran for the train station.  If they were quick, they could catch the same train as the Dragon Slayers.

 

*** _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

“Wen~dy!”  Natsu moaned on the train.  “Please, cast Troia!”

 “I’m sorry, Natsu-san,” Said the Sky Dragon.  “But if I use it too often, the effects won’t work so well, and you’ll build up an immunity to the spell.”

 Natsu dry heaved out the window, and Kiyi sweatdropped.  She had only really come because Levy asked her to; dragons weren’t going to help her get home, though they might be able to make her stronger, like the Masters had for Zuko and the Avatar.  (Levy also had had a spare change of clothes for both Wendy and Kiyi, to the girl’s delight, and had fixed their hair for them, so, bonus!)

 “Anyway, Happy!”  Levy interrupted blithely.  “How did you hear about this?”

 The blue Exceed temporarily gave up his pursuits of Carla in order to answer.  “Alzak and Bisca heard it coming back from their last job.  _In Margaret Town, there is a Fire Dragon who protects the town_ , they said.  And if there’s one Dragon, maybe there’s more!”

 Gajeel sneered from his seat beside Wendy.  “I’m tellin’ ya, it won’t be Igneel.  It’s probably just some person with a nickname, or something.”

 Kiyi pouted at him.  “You don’t know that, Gajeel.  What if it _is_ a dragon?  Just because nobody’s seen them in a while, doesn’t mean that they’re not out there.  In the Fire Nation, everybody thinks that Dragons are extinct.”

 Everybody (minus Natsu) was looking at her in horror. 

 “But…”  Wendy began shakily.  “I thought you said that your brother learnt from a dragon?!”

 Kiyi shrugged.  “He relearnt his firebending from the masters Ran and Shaw, that’s true.  But Firelord Sozin made it a tradition a hundred years ago, to hunt dragons for glory.  It was said that only the greatest firebenders were capable of taking one down, so if you succeeded, then your firebending power would increase, and you received the title of _Dragon_.  General Iroh, Zuko’s uncle, he told everyone that he killed the last dragon to protect the Masters.”

 “What a horrible thing!”  Levy exclaimed, eyes overbright.  “What was that ruler thinking?!”

 Kiyi shrugged again, uncomfortable.  “Zuko says that they’re all mad; Sozin, Azulon, stinky Ozai, even our sister.  Besides, it’s not like that happened here, isn’t it?  Anyway, what are we going to do once we get to Margaret?”

 “We’ll fly around until we find Igneel!”  Happy drooled around a fish.

 “Idiots!”  Gajeel snapped, turning his head away from them all.  “Didn’t I say it before?  How many times are ya gonna get ya hopes up over nothing’?  Our dragons left without sayin’ a word, and they ain’t comin’ back, so just give up.”

 The compartment was quiet for a moment (Wendy had tears in her eyes), before Kiyi asked, in a very quiet voice, “Am I never going home, then?”

 “W-wha –?”  Gajeel spluttered, caught flatfooted.

 “I left without saying a word,” Kiyi snapped.  “I was sucked up into that Anima, and I never got the chance to say _anything_ to my family – how do you know something like that didn’t happen to Metallicana?!  What if he’s trapped somewhere else too, and he’s trying to find his own way home again?”

 Gajeel stared at her with wide red eyes, before turning away with a _tch!_

 It was a long, _quiet_ trip to Margaret Town.

 

*** _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

Ilah Blendy hated being eleven years old.  It was better than being ten, of course, and even better than being nine, but nobody listened to her!  Even though she was a Guild member, just like her cousin Sherry, and even though her parents had the respected positions in the community that they did, everybody continued to treat Ilah like an incapable child.

 “Fire!  There’s a fire in the forest!”

 When the call went out, Ilah should have been one of the first of Lamia Scale’s members to get to the scene, since fire was her speciality.  However, all anyone could say to her was _go home to your father, where it’s safe!_

 Pfft.  Yeah, right!

 (That being said, she did send her two baby sisters home, instead)

 Having had to take the backstreets so that the townsfolk and other mages wouldn’t notice her, Ilah took in the scene in front of her: Jura-san was leading the earth mages in trying to create fire burrows, water and sand mages were trying to douse the flames, with help from that ice mage Sherry had brought back, and everyone else was trying their best to help bring water to try and put out the fire.

 “Idiots.”  Ilah growled under her breath, running straight for the forest.  “You fight fire with fire!”

 Just as she was punching her first fistful of flames into the blaze, there were screams from the other mages, _look out_ s and _don’t go there_ s.

 “Thank you for the meal!”  A boy’s voice echoed back to Ilah, but all she could see was a flowing white-scaled scarf and pink hair, before the fire _moved_ , flowing up and into the boy’s mouth, his gut expanding from the sheer amount that he consumed.

 “Natsu-san!”  A girl, probably not much older than Ilah, called.  “I’ll assist you!”  Fluttering blue hair caught Ilah’s eye, and she felt herself take a step back when she saw the hurricanes wrapping around the other girl’s arms, before they were thrust at the forest fire. 

 “Remember, Wendy, not too much force!”  Another bluenette called out.  “Solid Script: Rain!”

 “Pick up the pace!” Roared a large, wild-looking man as he rushed past the guild members, a full bucket in both hands, three flying cats behind him.  “Or do ya wanna lose your town!?”

 Ilah straightened herself up at that, drew in a deep breath, and punched as much of her own fire out as she could; the two fires would meet in the middle, and wipe each other out (or that was her plan, anyway.)

 “Is that really the best you can all do?”  Another girl’s voice came from behind Ilah, revealing a child of about ten or so.  Her light brown hair was held up in a neat topknot with a bright pink ribbon, firelight danced in her honey-brown eyes, and her clothes were quite Eastern in design, a maroon and gold knee-length, sleeveless qipao over dark brown pants, light sandals on her feet.  A golden Fairy Tail mark was on her left shoulder.  “Geez, I thought this was supposed to be hard!”  The little girl walked past Ilah, offering her a reassuring smile.  “Don’t worry.  We’ll help protect this town.  Just leave it to us!”

 Before Ilah could say anything about it, the girl took up a loose horse stance, then twisted slightly down and to the side, her hands sweeping far to the left and back, her eyes closed as she drew in a deep breath … and then those honey eyes opened again, her arms came up and around, sweeping the surrounding fires up with them, spinning around her body like a pillar of multi-coloured, golden fire.

 This, Ilah knew, was the power of the Masters.

 This was Dragon Fire.

 “Hi!”  The girl said cheerfully over her shoulder once her fire had disappeared, leaving only smoking ashes behind.  “I’m Kiyi Hira’a, and I’m Azuma no Yōsei; the Fairy of the East!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is so much plot being introduced here! We only have "this day" and then the "next" is the day that the S Class participants are announced! Feel free to throw in any suggestions or scenes you'd like to see XD
> 
> I work at two seperate dinosaur conservation facilities, so my schedule is pretty hectic; I'm actually going to be without internet for the next fortnight, minimum, but I would love to come back to reviews!


	11. Chapter 11:  Fairy Burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ilah, meet Kiyi. Kiyi, meet Ilah's Dad

The first thing Kiyi noticed about the girl in front of her was that she was sharp: her indigo eyes were piercing, the pink buns on either side of her head were tied with gold ribbon, and her vest and three-quarter pants were all in familiar shades of dark maroon, surprisingly unrumpled.

 

“I’m Kiyi Hira’a, and I’m Azuma no Yōsei; the Fairy of the East!”  Kiyi introduced herself cheerfully, once her fire had cleared.  There was a beat of silence, whilst the girl stared at Kiyi, _hard_.   “Do you have a name?”  Kiyi asked her with slightly forced cheer, before the silence could become too awkward.

 

“I’m Ilah,” The girl said finally, eyes shifting from Kiyi to the forest fire that still burned, further afield.  “Ilah Blendy, of Lamia Scale.  Come find me later – I think we should talk.”

 

That said, Ilah shot past Kiyi, pink fringe fluttering wildly.  Kiyi blinked in surprise, before shaking her head quickly, and running over to another bit of the blaze, drawing in a deep breath as she did so.  To be perfectly honest, Kiyi was surprised at how well she’d been able to replicate the consuming cone of gold fire – she’d only seen Zuko execute the move once, five years ago.  That was the first time her family had tried to move in to the Royal Palace, and the only reason Kiyi remembered the move so well was because of how cool it had looked, at the time.  Concentrating now, Kiyi replicated Zuko’s actions once more, calling on the power of the tiny sun that was her bending.

 

Golden and purple, blue and green, red and orange, the Dragon Fire that Zuko had unintentionally taught his baby sister roared up and around her body, catching at the forest fire and dragging it up, into the air and dispersing the flames.  Kiyi raced from firespot to firespot, grinning wildly.  _This_ was what it meant to be a firebender!

 

“Oi, Kiyi!”  Gajeel yelled as she flew past him.  “Quit smilin’ an’ do ya job!”

 

“Gi hee hee!  I am, Gajeel, don’t worry!”  She called over her shoulder, just before she took up her stance and conjured the golden fire once more. 

 

It didn’t take too much longer after that, between the Fairy Tail and Lamia Scale mages’ combined magicks and efforts, to completely put out the fire.

 

“Man, what a great meal!”  Natsu laughed, coming over to Kiyi and ruffling her hair.  “What was that gold fire you were making, Kiyi?  It looked so cool!”

 

“It’s called Dragon Fire,” Ilah’s sudden appearance caused the gathered Fairies to jump.  “Only those who’ve trained with the Masters are capable of producing the golden fire.”  Those sharp indigo eyes snapped to Kiyi.  “You’re a firebender, right?”

 

Kiyi’s eyes widened in shock.  “You’re from the Fire Nation too?!  How did you get here?!  Do you know how to get back?!”

 

Ilah scoffed, and plucked at a strand of her fringe.  “Do I look like I’m from the Fire Nation?”  Her eyes roamed over the gathered mages, taking in Levy, the Dragon Slayers, and the Exceeds.  “My dad was from there, though.  I think he’d like to meet you, Hira’a.  Come with me?”

 

Kiyi turned big eyes to Gajeel.  “Can I?”

 

Gajeel shrugged carelessly.  “Whatever ya wanna do, Hime.  Salamander and Miko can go looking for their Dragons, and me ‘n’ Levy will come with you.”

 

Kiyi hugged him tightly, before turning back to Ilah with a determined face.  “Please lead the way!”

 

Ilah nodded back once, turned on her heel and set off at a brisk pace, following the edge of the forest.

 

* * *

 

Ilah’s home was set on the outskirts of Margaret Town, built so similarly to the one Kiyi had left behind in Hira’a that just seeing the house instantly made her feel more at ease.

 

“It looks just like a Fire Nation house!”  Kiyi gasped excitedly.  “Fancier than anything in Hira’a, but Fire Nation all the same!”

 

“Hira’a?”  The four Fairies stiffened, and spun around in surprise.  “Well, I’m sorry to say this young miss, but you are quite a long way from home.”

 

The man behind them was sitting in a wheelchair, a blanket over his legs, and two little pink-haired girls hanging off either handlebar.

 

“Father,” Ilah called, moving closer.

 

“I know that,” Kiyi said quietly.  “I’ve been in Earthland a week now.  But I _will_ get home.  I made a promise.”

 

The man in the wheelchair spread his hands.  “There are many men here from the world of the Avatar, and we have been here for quite some time.  Why are you different?”

 

Kiyi stiffened, and stepped forward, away from Gajeel and Levy.  “Because I’m my brother’s sister, and because I’m Fairy Tail.  I … I didn’t know that there were others from our world here.”

 

The man smiled a soft, familiar smile.  “There are many things in this world – and beyond – that we do not know.”

 

“Like your name?”  Kiyi snarked – Gajeel _gi hee_ ed, and ruffled her hair proudly.

 

The man’s smile brightened.  “I’m Lu Blendy.  These are my daughters, Cheria and Lan Fan – I see you’ve already met Ilah.  And yourself?”

 

“I’m Kiyi, of Hira’a and Fairy Tail.  This is Gajeel Redfox, Levy McGarden and Pantherlily, of Fairy Tail.  You said that there are others here?”

 

Lu chuckled.  “I did.  But perhaps this is a story better discussed inside, over tea?”

 

Kiyi giggled.  “You sound like Uncle.  My friends can come too?”

 

“Of course,” Lu smiled.  “Girls?”  Cheria and Lan Fan started to push the wheelchair towards the house, and Ilah opened the doors.

 

“Hime?”  Gajeel asked quietly.

 

She drew in a deep breath, “Yeah, let’s go.”

 

* * *

 

 

The dining room area was set up with a low table, where a beautiful woman with the same blue eyes and magenta hair as the three sisters was setting out a tea set.

 

“Now, Ilah,” She said teasingly.  “I thought the guild mages had told you to stay away from the fire?”

 

Ilah smirked – and wasn’t _that_ a familiar sight, as well.  “I was the best for the job, Mum.  It would have been dishonourable not to help.”

 

Her mother rolled her eyes.  “You are your father’s daughter, aren’t you.  Lu, who are your guests?”

 

“Fairy Tail mages who were passing through, dear heart,” He answered brightly.  “Gajeel, Levy, Pantherlily, and Kiyi of the Fire Nation.”

 

She raised her brows at that.  “Well, I imagine you have much to talk about – don’t let me stop you.”

 

Lu chuckled, then gestured to the cushions arranged around the table.  “Please, take a seat,”

 

Once everyone was seated and had a cup to hand, Kiyi nodded.  “We’re ready.”

 

Lu took a sip of his tea, before starting his tale in a soft voice.

 

“We are what remains of two battalions that fought on the wall of Ba Sing Se, during the siege led by General Iroh, the Dragon of the West,” Lu told them calmly, hands folded around a cup of tea in his lap.  “One each, from both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom.  There were strange spirit lights in the sky, the last day we were on the Wall – before we all knew it, we were here.  My wife, Sharon,” here, he gestured to the beautiful woman beside him, “is a prosthesis doctor, and an animation mage.  She helped us all recover, see.”

 

Sharon smiled, and patted her husband’s cheek.  “Almost everyone, darling.”

 

Lu cupped her hand and smiled at her warmly.  “My men are all safe and healthy, and that’s all that matters to me.”  He turned back to Kiyi.  “Now, tell us, young firebender – what brings you here?”

 

Kiyi bit her bottom lip, looked up at Gajeel and Levy for reassurance, and swallowed.  “Those spirit lights are from another world, called Edolas.  We were all brought here because we have a little bit of magic in us, apparently.  My parents and I were moving from Hira’a to the capital, to be with my brother, when we were ambushed.  My brother and his friend held most of them off, but a rogue earthbender stole me, and they used me against them, because they’re good people.”  She drew in a deep breath, and continued.  “I tried to use firebending to break free, but the Anima, the lights, they sucked me up and dumped me in front of Magnolia, where I met Fairy Tail, and found out I could bend.  Now I’m trying to get home, but… I don’t know how.”

 

Lu grimaced, leant forward and placed a comforting hand on Kiyi’s shoulder.  “I’m sorry, little one.  But we’ve been here since the seventy-fifth year of Fire Lord Azulon’s reign.”

 

Kiyi blinked.  “The year stinky Ozai took over?!  But – but that’s longer than I’ve been alive!”

 

“Ozai!?”  Lu demanded.  “Did something happen to the General?!”

 

“General Iroh?”  Kiyi asked.  “He was fine, last time I saw him.”

 

“Then why was Azulon’s second son the Fire Lord?!”

 

“I don’t know!”  Kiyi exclaimed back.  “Ozai was just – he was just always the Fire Lord!  And then Avatar Aang defeated him on the day of Sozin’s Comet, and Zuko defeated Azula in an Agni Kai, and – ”

 

“ _Zuko_ did!?”  Lu interrupted.  “But I – I heard that the princess was a prodigy.”

 

Kiyi glowed with pride.  “Zuko is the best.”  She said cheerfully, before crouching in on herself.  “But… Azula was really sick.  Ozai messed her head up, and after training with Avatar Aang and the-ir Masters, Zuko could take her.”

 

“Avatar Aang?”  Lu asked weakly.

 

Kiyi grinned.  “He’s great!  He loves adventures and riding animals, and every time I see him, he takes me with him!  He and Zuko are best friends.”

 

“And how do you know the Fire Lord?”

 

“Well…”  Kiyi dragged in a deep breath, and decided that she was committed.  “He’s my big brother.  Half-brother, technically, but he’s never let that come between us, and he’s always looking out for me and teaching me stuff and he takes Mom and Dad and I with him on his trips!”

 

“Wait wait wait!”  Lu exclaimed.  “Ok.  Start at the beginning, please?”

 

Kiyi looked to Gajeel and Levy once more, drew in a deep breath, and began.  “The beginning?  Well, it starts with two Water Tribe siblings out in their canoe – and a boy in an iceberg…”

 

* * *

**Canonically, the AtlA characters use “Mom”.  Fairy Tail is Japanese and I'm Australian, so if I want to use “Mum” for the Blendy sisters, there’s no canon saying otherwise.  
** **Also, for a desert country, there has been an effing schist tonne of rain over the last few weeks!  I am currently stuck at work(it’s been three days and counting :’( ), so I’d really appreciate some reviews!!  Especially any theories for what might be happening in the future – there’s a bit of foreshadowing here, as well!**


	12. Fairy Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Earthbending, you must face your opponent face on. Kiyi is not an Earthbender. There's got to be some different angle, some clever solution, some trickity trick that will help her get home

“So, you’re telling me that the Avatar came back, after a hundred year absence, joined forces with two Water Tribe siblings, a blind noble-girl, and a banished prince, took down the forces of the Fire Nation, and brought about a time of peace and prosperity between all the Nations – all in the last seven years?”  Lu Blendy asked in shock, once Kiyi had finished her tale.

 “Well, yeah.”

 Lu ran both hands over his face, and scrubbed at his eyes.  “Spirits!  No wonder you want to get back so much more than we do!”

 “You don’t want to return to your families?”  Levy asked, worrying at her bottom lip.

 Lu held out both of his hands.  “Don’t get me wrong, we’re all homesick.  Many of the men under my command were young soldiers with sweethearts at home who have no doubt moved on, most of the Earth Kingdom battalion had no true love of the Lower Rings of Ba Sing Se, and of those who still had family who would miss them… well, it has been a decade.  Most of us have moved on, too.” 

 “But what about your parents, your siblings?!”

 Lu’s voice became even softer.  “I would love to see my father and cousins again.  But this is my family now,” here he gestured to his wife and daughters.  “My girls’ are no more of the Fire Nation than I am of the Earth Kingdom, and my wife is a successful and valued member of the community – I couldn’t take them all away from their home.  It is the same for many of the others, who have started families in this world.  We would love to go home, but realistically, it just isn’t possible for us anymore.”

 Kiyi smacked her hand down on the table, rising sharply.  “Who says it isn’t possible?  What have you tried to get yourselves home?”

 “We have contacted mages and Councilmembers before, little one.”

 “But what kinds of magic!”  Kiyi exclaimed.  “Have you chased every angle?  Have you looked at the Spirit World – the one that we knew, and the one of this world?  Have you spoken with the Exceed, who are from another world as well, to see what they know about these sorts of things?!”

 Lu stared at her in shock.  “…How old are you again, little one?”

 “I’m ten – I’ll be eleven after the solstice.  Zuko was going to throw a party for me after we got back from the South Pole, though I wasn’t supposed to know about that.”

 “And you’ve been here not quite a week, and already you have thought of more avenues to explore than many of my soldiers!”

 Kiyi blushed.  “W-well, Avatar Aang always says that looking at something from a different angle helps him figure stuff out better, so I just… um…”

 “Hime’s bein’ modest.”  Gajeel grunted, resting his forearm on her head.  “She’s pretty clever – been figuring out her magic an’ bending on the fly, all week.”

 “… I have heard that the Lady Ursa was a formidable woman.”  Lu said softly.   “It would seem that you favour your mother, young Kiyi.  Now, you have raised some fair points: we did, briefly, look into the Spirit World, and indeed some of the younger members of both battalions have gone forth in search of great Celestial mages to ask them for their help, but to no avail.  Unless there is another mage on the other side, the Celestial Spirits have no way of opening the Gate for us.”

 Levy hummed in agreement.  “I’ve been conducting research myself, to try and help Kiyi.  From what Lily and I have been able to figure out, the Anima is out of the question, since its job was to suck magic from other worlds and deposit it in Edolas.  Even if we were able to make a reverse Anima, one which sucks up benders and sends them somewhere else, there would still need to be a copy of the machine in the Avatar’s world to receive you.  I haven’t yet scratched the surface of teleportation or alternative reality magicks in my research, so I’m not sure yet how well we could use them, either…  But Lu-chan and Loke have already told me that using this Spirit World is impossible.  Is there anyone in your battalions who might know more about your version of the Spirit World?”

 Everyone in the room blinked in surprise. 

 “It would seem that the women of your guild are all above and beyond the norm,” Lu said to Gajeel in awe; the Dragon Slayer grunted, ears lightly pink.  “No, Miss McGarden, there is not.  If there was, we would have followed this line of enquiry already.”

 Levy nodded, then turned to Kiyi.  “You’ve said that the Avatar was the bridge between the physical world and the spirit world, and that he was best friends with your brother.  Surely you must know a little bit about your own Spirit World?”

 Kiyi hesitated, thinking.  “It _is_ possible to pass between the two worlds and back again – Avatar Roku did it.  So, we should be able to too!  But, um… I don’t know if we should look for places where the borders between the worlds’ is at its thinnest or not, but I’ll try meditating, and see if I can’t cross over that way?  Or, my spirit, at least…”

 “You think you can cross over into the spirit world?”  Ilah demanded.  “You’re a kid!”

 Kiyi scowled at her.  “So what?  I’ve done it before, and besides, if anyone can, it will be me; I was born close to the Solstice, in a town that borders the forest of the Mother of Faces, so maybe if I meditated on it long enough, my spirit might be able to pass back to the Avatar’s world.  Then I could ask Aang and Uncle what they think.”

 Lu nodded.  “A sound plan, Kiyi.  Though, please be careful when you try to crossover – don’t do anything on your own.”

 “Ya saying we can’t look after our guild mate?”  Gajeel growled.

 “Of course not,” Lu said, placating.  “But, I have heard that the Fire Lord was rather impatient and headstrong in his youth, and I would hate for anything to happen to Kiyi if she took after her brother.”

 Kiyi scowled at him, as well.  “I’m not _that_ much like Zuko!  Besides, he’s the one who’s always telling me to think things thr–!”

 The door suddenly flew off the hinges with a familiar roar of “ _IGNEEL!!”_  , knocking into Gajeel in the process.

 “Show yourself!”  Natsu bellowed from the doorway, Happy and Carla at his shoulders and Wendy peaking from behind his waist.  “Eh?”

 Sharon rose from her place beside her husband gracefully, saying in a casual sort of voice, “That door was an antique.  Doll Attack!  _Door Doll!_ ”

 

* * *

 

The Avatar and the Fire Lord had spent the last few hours locked away in the royal library, trying to find any further information on spirit-travel – Katara and Mai had taken Appa to the Western Air Temple, and were searching for any hints in what remained of the libraries there, with Suki taking an eelhound to help Sokka search the Northern Temple and then make their way to the Ba Sing Se University.

 “You’re _sure_ Roku said he’d been there before?”  Zuko asked tiredly.

 “ _Yes_ ,” Aang frowned.  “Two years before he died, Roku was travelling through the Spirit World, and was accidentally sucked into an Anima, which took him to Earthland, where he met the founders of the Guild that Kiyi has joined.  I don’t know how he came back though, so maybe if we could find that out, we’d have a better idea on how to get to Kiyi…”

 “You can’t just ask him in the Spirit World again?”  Zuko demanded.

  “I’ll try,” Aang nodded wearily, folding himself into a lotus position and taking a calming breath.  After a few moments, a blue mist came from Aang on the exhale, taking the shape of Avatar Roku.

 “Aang.  Zuko,” The old Avatar greeted.  “I’m afraid that I cannot help you.  I do not know how I returned to the Avatarverse from Earthland.”

 “How can you not know?!”  Zuko exploded. 

 “When I was pulled from our Spirit World and into Earthland,” Roku began quietly.  “I had become lost, and disorientated, whilst trying to return home.  A storm had started, with a bright light at the centre, and before I knew it, everything had warped and sucked up into the eye of the storm.  When the storm had passed, I found myself washed up on the beach of Magnolia, the town that housed the Fairy Tail Guild.  Mavis took me in, and I stayed with the guild for a few weeks, desperately trying to return to Ta Min and our family.  Mavis and her friends Yuri, Precht and Warod, threw themselves into researching different ways to send me home… and eventually, they came across a scholar called Yeoleum.  I blacked out, so I don’t know what strange magic it was that he used to send me back to our world.  I’m sorry.”

 Zuko and Aang exchanged looks. 

 “Can you contact Kiyi again?”  Zuko asked.  “And tell her about Yeoleum?  She might be able to find some of his works.”

 Roku nodded.  “I will try my best.  Good luck, Aang, Zuko.”

 With that, the Avatar was gone.

* * *

**I am so, so sorry for how long this has been in coming!  Fingers crossed it won't be so much more of wait for following chapters!  
I hope that everybody had a good holidays, and has a happy and safe New Year**

 


	13. 13. Fairy Telling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for those who may have already read this on ff.net  
> Thank you all so much for your support of this fic!

The Blendy family had always been mages.  It was said that the first ancestor had learnt at the hands of Eileen Belserion herself, four hundred years ago.  The type of magic changed as often as the seasons, but the constant was that the Blendy’s always bore pink hair and dark blue eyes.  Sharon had inherited her father’s looks, but not his magic – instead of the air magic that had made Shawn Blendy famous all over Ishgar, Sharon had followed on her doctor mother’s coattails, and taught herself animation magic to help with her prosthetic surgeries.

 It was also helpful for when over-eager Dragon Slayers decided to break down her antique front door, yelling and carrying on like a pork chop.

 “ _Doll Attack_!  Door Doll!  Cane Doll!”

 The Door Doll grabbed Natsu at the ankles and hoisted him up unceremoniously, and the spare walking cane from the umbrella rack proceeded to whack Natsu around the head furiously.

 “Eek!  Ow!  Owowowowow!!!”  Natsu squawked, before setting his hands on fire.  “I’m all fired up!  Kaaryū no Hokou!”

 All around Natsu became an inferno, causing most of the people in the room (and outside, as well) to shriek, and leap backwards – with the exceptions of Kiyi and Lu.  Kiyi jumped in front of Gajeel and Levy, dipping down and into the stance for the Master’s golden fire, but she wasn’t anywhere near as fast as Lu.  He leant forward and drew in a deep, deep breath, and the fire came with it.

 The Fairies stared, mouths agape.

 Lu smiled at Natsu serenely.  “Thank you for the meal.  It was perhaps one of the spiciest fires I have ever eaten.”

 “ _EEEEHHH?!_ ” The Fairies exclaimed.  “ _YOU’RE A DRAGON SLAYER?!_ ”

 “Well, not quite.”  Lu told them calmly, pouring himself a new cup of tea.  “You see, I’m only a Second Generation Slayer, not a First Gen like yourselves,” Here he gestured to Natsu, Wendy and Gajeel.  “When we first landed in this world, I was one of the most damaged soldiers.  Not only was my pelvis and a number of vertebrae broken, but many of my chakras had also been greatly damaged, and my central fire, as well.  I could barely control my firebending, and the only way to stop the random spotfires I caused every time I had a nightmare or sneezed was to insert a Dragon Slayer Lacrima into my centre.”

 “So that means _you’re_ the Fire Dragon we came all this way to see?!”  Happy exclaimed from the doorway.

 Lu inclined his head.  “Yes.  Once my men realised what the combination of Dragon Slayer Magic and my own bending was capable of, they started to call me _The Dragon of the East_ , in homage to our homeland and my new abilities.  I’m afraid my reputation has become quite widespread – I have many young mages coming to me for tutorage, but I have had to turn most of them away.  So far, Ilah and Lan Fan are my only students.”

 “Because of the Bending?”  Carla asked shrewdly.

 Lu gave a big-bellied laugh.  “True!  But also, I don’t know how to teach magic without teaching bending, and most Fiorans aren’t interesting in all the culture that comes with learning Firebending.  But for my daughters, it is their inheritance.”

 “Master Lu.”  Kiyi said, sitting back on her heels, and bowing her head respectfully.  “Please.  Do you mind one more apprentice?  I can’t always be here due to my commitments to my Guild, but – ”

 “Yes.”  Lu interrupted.  “Three days a week, if that is alright with your Master.  I would be more than happy to have Azuma no Yōsei as my student.” 

 The two bowed to each other formerly, then looked up with matching smiles.

 “Aw maaan!”  Natsu interrupted, making the gathered Blendys and Fairies jump.  “Igneel isn’t here after all!  C’mon Happy, we’d better go get another job!” 

 With an excited _Aye sir!_ , the two took off in burst of dust.

 “Typical Natsu,” Levy deadpanned.  “Well, he has a point.  I’d better get back to the Guild, too.  Everyone, you’ll stay with Kiyi?”

 “No, we’ll come back too.”  Kiyi said firmly, before either Gajeel or Wendy could say anything.  “I have to talk to Master Makarov.  Master Lu, Doctor Blendy, thank you for your hospitality, and I’ll see you next week?”

 “Of course,” Lu and Sharon said, bowing back to the littlest Fairy.

 “Travel safe, and we’ll see you soon,” Sharon smiled.

 Once the Fairies had all said their goodbyes and made their way back to the train station, Lu turned to his daughters.

 “You do not mind, dear ones?”  He asked.

 All three shrugged, though with different expressions on their faces.  Indifferent Lan Fan fiddled with her teacup, whilst a positive Cheria smiled and said, “It will be good to have another person from the Fire Nation to tell us about it, Papa.  And Kiyi’s been to heaps of other places, as well!!  Sharing is love!”

 Ilah, however, was frowning slightly.  “She’s different to the three of us.”

 “That is true.” Lu nodded. 

 “I watched her, at the fire.  She Firebends and uses fire magic hand in hand.  What she does… it’s straight from the Masters, Dad.  Her golden fire, the way she moves – I think she learnt a lot more from her brother than she’s letting on.”

 “She might not realise herself just how much he’s rubbed off on her.”  Sharon called, using her magic to reattach the door to the doorframe.  “It is in your favour though, my darlings.  She might rub off on you, too!”

 Lan Fan and Ilah both smiled at their mother, whilst Cheria burst into giggles.  “Unn!”

 

*** _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

Once again finding herself on the train back to Magnolia, Kiyi settled herself into her seat between Levy and Wendy, and took a deep breath. 

 “I’m going to try and contact Avtar Roku, again.”  She said firmly.  “Please look after my body while I dream.”

 “Do you need a hand going to sleep?”  Levy asked gently.  Kiyi hesitated, before nodding once.  “Solid Script: Snooze!”

 Kiyi’s brown eyes rolled up in the back of her head, and she sunk down further into the seat, body lax.

  _She found herself atop a misty mountain peak, surrounded by blue clouds, and staring into the face of a growling, bright red dragon._

_Swallowing a spike of fear, Kiyi bowed politely.  “Hello, good Dragon.  I am Kiyi, of Hira’a.  Could you point me towards the spirit of Avatar Roku, please?”_

_The Dragon bowed it’s head gravely, slithered over and offered it’s back to Kiyi, revealing a stylised saddle._

_“With your permission, good Dragon,” Kiyi breathed, moving slowly and carefully.  Once she had a firm hand on the saddle, the dragon took off sharply; Kiyi whooped excitedly as they raced through the cloudy sky.  “_ This is better than the flying fish~! _” She laughed brightly._

_Eventually they rushed into the midst of the forest from Kiyi’s first visit, where Roku was meditating._

_G_ _iggling breathlessly, Kiyi slid down from the Dragon’s saddle, and bowed, smiling widely.  “Thank you very much, Master Dragon!  Good afternoon, great-grandfather.  How are you today?”_

_Roku looked up in shock.  “My dear, what on earth brings you back here?”_

_“Can you tell me of your last visit to Fiore?”  Kiyi asked instead.  “And all that you can of the Spirit World, too.”_

_Roku nodded.  “Of course – I was on my way to find you, actually.  Have you yet heard of a scholar called Yeoleum?”_

_Kiyi thought for a moment, before shaking her head. “No, sorry.”_

_“It was he who Mavis tracked down to help return me to the Avatarverse.  I believe that, if you can find some of his teachings, you will be able to gain some headway in going home.”_

_“Yeoleum, right, got it!”_

_“Sometimes he is called ‘the Scholar’, sometimes he is called ‘the Red Dragon’.  But his name is always listed as Yeoleum, and I believe he prefers the northern parts of the continent of Ishgar.  Now, for your second question: once, the Spirit World and the Physical World were both one and the same, but humans and spirits could not live together.  And so, the first Avatar, Wan, separated the two, so that the world could be peaceful again.  There are places where the two worlds overlap, and the barrier between them is thinner, and easier to pass through.  For example, on the solstices it is common to end up in the opposite world by accident – I believe your friend Sokka has experienced this.  There are also Spirits who prefer the Physical world, for whatever reason.”_

_“Is it possible for me to use the Spirit World to cross back over?”_

_Roku was quiet for a moment.  “I think…  I think you should see what Yeoleum has to say.  When they returned me to the Avatarverse, I awoke back here, in our Spirit World.  I think you should follow that angle.  I’m sorry I can’t help you any further, Kiyi.  Is there anything I can pass on to your family?”_

_Kiyi thought long and hard, before saying, “Please tell them I love them very much, and that I am still trying my best to get home to them.  Thank you for your help, Great-Grandfather.  Could you please tell me how to get home?”_

_The great dragon bent it’s neck until his eyes were level with Kiyi’s, and then touched his forehead to hers.  There was a flash of white light, and Kiyi awoke again, safe on the train between Levy and Wendy once more._


	14. 14.  Fairy Partner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The S Class Exam Participants are announced, Kiyi has faith in everyone, and those in the Avatarverse try their hand at research

_ Azuma no Yosei _

Chapter Fourteen:  Fairy Partner

***coughs*  SO!  Hey everyone, did you know we’re at chapter fourteen?  And that nobody has reviewed since chapter eight?  Now I’m not saying you’ll give a girl a complex, but – well, ya are.  So if I could maybe get a tinsy tiny review today, that would be awesome!  Just out of curiosity, has anyone picked up on the foreshadowing…?**

* * *

 

Once the train had pulled back into the station in Magnolia, everybody went their separate ways.  Levy, Natsu and Happy all ran off to do more jobs; Gajeel, Lily, Wendy and Carla all went to the bar to check in, and report back to Master.  Kiyi had gone with them originally, to ask Makarov if it was alright for her to go to Master Lu on the weekends, but once she had his permission, she had wandered back home.  Everything had been moving so fast, Kiyi felt that she just needed a moment or two to herself.

 The only reason that Ursula had decided to let her new family move in with her firstborn had been because of the self-defence lessons that Zuko and the Kyoshi Warriors had given Kiyi over the last five years.  Kiyi might not have her fans with her here, or even her saber, but she could still do the katas that Suki and Ty Lee had taught her.  Once she’d run out of those, Kiyi started on some of her firebending forms, committing herself entirely to the stretch of her muscles, and the burn of her fire.

 The sun was almost setting by the time Gajeel and Lily came back from the guild, only to find Kiyi, dripping with sweat, meditating upside down at the trunk of a tree, balanced on her first two fingers.

 “Hime?”  Gajeel grunted. 

 “Are you alright, Kiyi-chan?”  Lily asked kindly.

 Warm brown eyes blinked open, and Kiyi gave them both a dazzling smile.  “I’m fine!  Not to worry, I just had a bit of a work out today, that’s all.  Do you know if Levy is back from her mission yet?”

 “Mira said she should get back early tomorrow,” Lily answered.

 “Awesome, I need her help in the library after the whole S-Class thing.  Avatar Roku gave me a lead on getting home!”

 “That’s great!”  Both exclaimed.

 “What is it?”  Gajeel asked eagerly.

 “The person that the First Master contacted to help my great-grandfather was a scholar called Yeoleum; he should have some texts somewhere that Levy can help me analyse.”

 “Yeoleum…”  Gajeel murmured.  “Where have I heard that name before…?  What else do you know about him?”

 “He’s sometimes called either the Scholar or the Red Dragon, Roku says.” She said, contorting her body down and into a forward roll, springing back upright by Gajeel's elbow.

 “Huh.”  Gajeel hummed.  “… It’ll come back to me later.  What d’ya want for dinner, Hime?”

 “Do we have any of last night’s curry left over?”  She asked eagerly.  “That was really yummy!  But maybe with a bit more spice in it?”

 Gajeel and Lily’s jaws dropped.  “ _MORE spice?!  Kiyi!!_ ”

 

*** _ * _ * _ * _ ***

“Fairy Tail!  As we have done since days long past, I will now announce the participants in this year’s S Class Wizard Advancement Exam!”  Master’s announcement was met with unrestrained cheering from all of the gathered Fairies.

 “Everyone, quiet down!”  Kiyi still wasn’t sure which was worse, Erza’s bark, or her bite – both seemed pretty fierce to the young firebender.

 “The Master isn’t finished speaking yet,” Gildarts reprimanded.

 “This year’s exam will take place on Tenroujima!  It is holy ground for our guild. Each of your powers, hearts, and souls… I have judged them all this past year…  There will be eight participants!  Natsu Dragneel!  Gray Fullbuster!  Juvia Lockser!  Elfman Straus!  Cana Alberona!  Freed Justine!  Levy McGarden!  Mest Gryder!”

 Kiyi cheered loudly for Levy, and wished really hard that her friend would do well.

 “This time,” Master continued.  “Only one of you will pass.  The exam will take place in a week, so each of you, prepare yourselves!”

  _“Just one week-kina?”_

_“Is the frontrunner Freed?”_

_“Mest, obviously.”_

_“Natsu and Gray are there, too!”_

“W-why aren’t I included?”  Gajeel exclaimed.  “Even Juvia is, so…”

“I’ve heard about your reputation in the guild,” Lily said.  “It doesn’t seem like you’re trusted.”

“Uh, no!”  Gajeel exclaimed.  “I mean, I can’t tell you why, but I’m not!  I wanna explain but I can’t!”

“Don’t worry, Gajeel,” Kiyi said reassuringly.  “It must be a numbers thing – eight is easier to split than nine, and Juvia must be just a little bit better than you.  You’ll just have to aim for next year, and cheer for Levy while we wait!”

“And another thing,” Lily said.  “There’s also Erza.”

The three looked over the S-Class wizard, who very cheerfully told Gajeel that he just wasn’t ready.

“Damn you!”  Gajeel spluttered.

“As this is the first time for some of you,” Master continued. “Let me explain the rules.”

Mirajane took over.  “Each of the eight selected participants, please select a partner within the week of preparation.”

“There are two rules for the partners you can choose.”  Erza added.  “One: they must be a member of Fairy Tail.  Two: you cannot partner with S Class Wizards.”

“In other words,” Lily said in an aside to Kiyi and Gajeel.  “you can’t form a team with Erza, Mirajane, or Gildarts.”

Master cleared his throat.  “The contents of the exam itself will be announced once you arrive at Tenroujima.  But this time, Erza will be blocking your progress.”

_“EH?!”_

Mirajane raised her hand.  “I’ll also help out to get in your way!”

_“EH?!”_

“No complaining!”  Gildarts called good naturedly.  “All S Class wizards have gone through the same path…”

_“Gildarts is going to compete too!?”_

“The eight selected participants and their partners will assemble at Hargeon Port in one week.”  Master finished.  “That is all!”

Kiyi waited for the crowd to thin a little bit, then ran over to Levy, and gave her a tight hug around the middle.  “Congratulations!  I know you can do it, Levy!!”

Levy laughed, and patted Kiyi on the head.  “Thanks, Kiyi-chan!  Finally.  Finally I will become S Class!”

“Once you’ve picked your partner,” Kiyi said quickly, taking a few steps back.  “Can you show me how to work the guild library?  And archives?  Pretty please pretty please pretty please!!”

 “Of course, Kiyi-chan!”  Levy giggled.  “Have you got a lead to follow?”

 “Yeah!  I’ll conduct research all of this week, and next week when you’re away, and then once you come home, we can brainstorm how to get me home!”

 “It sounds like a plan!”  Levy grinned at her, then turned to face her teammates.

 “Levy was chosen!  Levy was chosen!”

 “Amazing!  You might become an S Class wizard.”

 “So, you’ll be partnering with me, of course, right?”  Droy asked excitedly.

 “Don’t be silly, she’s partnering with me!”  Jet scolded.  “I’m the faster runner!”

 “My magic is suited for battle!  Anyway, you just want to be together with Levy!”

 “Same for you!”  Both went quiet when Gajeel walked up behind where Levy was sitting.

 “If you really wanna be an S Class wizard,” He said, “then I’ll lend you a hand.”

 “ _Gaaah!_ ”

 “Gajeel!”

 “I just have to blow away any guys who get in your way, right?”

 Levy wilted.  “But I’ve got a small body, and I’m not really good for anything…  I might lose right away.”

 Gajeel grabbed her by the back of her neck, lifting the poor girl straight up into the air.  “Don’t’ go sounding so weak before it’s even started, man!  Look at Hime, she never lets her small body get in her way!”

  _“Oi!”_

 “Hey!  Let me down!”  Levy exclaimed, struggling.

 “I’m gonna make you big time.” Gajeel promised her gravely.

 Lily nodded approvingly, and Kiyi giggled.  This was going to be interesting!

 “Before you get too carried away,” Kiyi interrupted.  “Levy, how good are you at hand to hand fighting?”

 “Uh, not really… My magic is a mid- to long-range type, so…”

 “That’s ok, I’ll teach you, as a thank you.”  Kiyi said happily.  “Suki and Ty Lee taught me a lot over the last five years.”

 “Really!?”  Everyone exclaimed.

 “Um, no offence, Kiyi-chan, but you’re quite a bit younger than me,” Levy said gently.  “I don’t know how well – kyaa!”

 Kiyi had taken a hold of Levy’s hand, tugged sharply, and thrown the older girl over her shoulder.  Kiyi pinned her, and raised her eyebrows expectantly.

 “Ok,” Levy coughed.  "Yeah, uh, you can definitely teach me!”

 “Awesome!”  Kiyi smiled brightly.  “First, how’s that library work?  I want to get started on my research really soon!

 

*** _ * _ * _ * _ ***

 

In what remained of the library at the Northern Air Temple, Suki had to pause mid-way through her sentence to sneeze.

 “Suki!  Do you have a cold?!”  Sokka worried.  “Do you need a coat?”

 “It’s nothing, Sokka, I’m fine.”  She said reassuringly.  “It’s like the old saying, you know – if you sneeze for no reason, then someone is talking about you somewhere.”

 “Really?  I’ve never heard that saying before.”

 “It’s a Kyoshi thing,” Suki told him plainly, patting his cheek patronisingly a couple of times.  “Don’t worry about it.  Have you found anything that could help Kiyi at all?”

 “No, nothing.  You?”

 “Just a missive in this journal; Avatar Roku had come to visit two of the nuns who lived here, Sister Dawa and her student Leassah, and mentioned how he’d gotten lost in the Spirit World.  Apparently Dawa was something of a spiritual expert; it says here that she told him that it was because of the solstice, and the alignment of the stars at that time.  Apparently our Spirit World is an in-between place that connects to other worlds and realities!  How cool is that?”

 “Normally, I would say that that’s pretty awesome, but right now I kind of just want to help the angry jerk find his sister, so we can go home.”  Sokka complained, scribbling down Suki’s find anyway.  “Anything else?”

 Suki’s eyes flicked over the next few pages, before shaking her head.  “No, nothing.  Anything else in this book is either mildewy or scorched.  Do you think we should talk to Aang about having someone transcribe these?  It seems like a waste, otherwise, to lose all of that knowledge.”

 Sokka nodded absently, scratching at his face with the wet end of his paintbrush.  “Sure, I’ll do some of it once we’re finished finding Kiyi.  Are there any other books?”

 “No, that was the last one.”

 “Alrighty then!  Team Fan and Sword, move it!”

 Suki levelled a deadpan glare at her boyfriend.  “Sweetie, that is _never_ going to catch on.  Please drop it already.”

 “But Suki!”  Sokka whined, following her out of the tarnished library.  Neither noticed a brief flurry of wind that stirred some of the dust in the corner, revealing a small tattered notebook – and neither noticed as the pages fluttered quickly, before stopping abruptly on a page completely covered in a picture of a black-and-blue dragon unlike _anything_ that had ever been seen in the Avatarverse before.

 The two warriors closed the door behind them, and walked away.

 

* * *

 

 

**Alrighty, does anyone want to see the week of training, or do you want to skip right to Kiyi seeing Gajeel and Levy off for the S Class exams?  Remember, the Tenrou Team are going to have their seven year gap, and Kiyi is going to stay behind, so if there is ANYTHING at ALL that you would like to see, NOW is your chance to say so!!**

**Also,  H A P P Y   A U S T R A L I A  D A Y!!  (Because I can ;))**


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